NC ROCs Adamantly Opposes Murphy Mental Health Bill, HR 3717

On December 12th Representative Tim Murphy introduced House Bill 3717, ironically entitled the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013.” Since then, the bill has been co-sponsored by 35 other House of Representative members from 21 different states(as of 2-10-14) including North Carolina’s own Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R) representing District 2.

It is NC ROCs position thatthis bill would have absolutely disastrous consequences for mental health and addictions care in North Carolina and the rest of the United States. NC ROCs is opposed to the bill for the following reasons:

  • This bill would push involuntary outpatient commitment on states often including forced medication and will promote sweeping commitment criteria. Research tells us that involuntary commitment is costly to implement and does not decrease hospitalizations.
  • The bill would defund mental health recovery programs, gut protection and advocacy programs, and remove privacy protections. The focus of care would therefore shift from minimizing crises and promoting wellness to simple symptom management. In the long run, this results in more hospitalizations and higher costs.
  • States would have to have tough commitment laws to receive their mental health block grant allocation.
  • Worse yet, mixed in with these controversial provisions are items that many Senators and mental health organizations are trying to pass this year, including re-authorization of the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Act, better funding for mental health centers that provide comprehensive services (including peer support), more money for children’s mental health, etc. It will thus be tempting for members of the House to sign on to show they are doing something about mental health needs.
  • This bill would reduce funding for the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) program by about 85% leaving individuals with mental illness no independent advocates nationwide to help address the myriad of issues faced every day.
  • This bill would lead to fewer individuals receiving the treatment they need while in prison, likely contributing to a cycle of recidivism.
  • This bill would eliminate many programs at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for and by consumers. These programs have greatly contributed to supporting consumer advocacy efforts in addition to improving services in N.C.
  • This bill would take steps to unravel the lead public agency dedicated to mental health and addiction issues through a number of key provisions that eliminate key programs including critical prevention and early intervention supports and services, undermine protection and advocacy for consumers, transfer authority away from SAMSHA, and dismantle key activities within the Department of Health and Human Services.

To learn more you can go the Bazelon Center’s for Mental Health Law website.

Status of the Bill:

The bill is currently referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Education and the Workforce, Ways and Means, and Science, Space, and Technology. This bill will remain in each committee for a period of time for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

On the Committee of Energy and Commerce is Renee Ellmers (R-NC District 2) who is also a co-sponsor of the bill. G .K. Butterfield (D NC District 1)is listed as being a member of the Health Subcommittee of this larger committee along with representative Ellmers.

On the Committee of Judiciary is Howard Coble (R-NC District 6). On the Committee of Education and the Workforce is Richard Hudson, (R-NC District 8). There are no NorthCarolina representatives on the Ways and Means and Science, Space and Technology subcommittees.

What Can You Do?

If you are in Districts, 1, 2, 6, 8 or 12 it is imperative that you contact your representative who is serving on one of the committees that will be voting on the bill. You can click on the names of the representatives above to get to their websites to learn more about which counties are in their districts and what their contact information is. It must pass the committees before coming to the floor for a vote so it would be most proactive to advocate for defeat at the committee level.

If you do not live in one of those districts you can sign the on line petition and reach out to the representatives above as a concerned citizen. (Here will be a link to a NC ROCs sponsored on line petition)

If you can facilitate an endorsement of this NC ROCs opposition statement, please click on the following link to access the organization endorsement form which requires the signature of the CEO. (this link will soon be created)

If the bill comes to the floor for a vote, we will need a second more vigorous wave of advocacy. An action alert will be sent out to all on the NC ROCs list serve if this happens.

What to Say When You Call a Representative:

  • When you call, tell the person answering the phone: “I live in Representative (name)’s district. He (or she) should NOT cosponsor HR 3717 (Rep. Tim Murphy’s mental health bill) and should not support it’s passage in any way because it is bad for constituents. This bill promotes coercive treatment, increases stigma, weakens protections for vulnerable people, and terminates critical mental health programs that help people recover from serious mental illness.”
  • Ask the person that answers the phone to give your message to the staff member that handles health issues for the Representative.