Mental Health Reform (PAIMI) Timeline
August 2008 – Wall Street Journal publishes article concerning the Bruce case.
May 2013 - (113th Congress) – Hearing in House Energy and Commerce Committee with Mr. Bruce testifying. E. Fuller Torrey and Sally Satel also testified against the PAIMI program.
December 2013 - The Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013 (H.R. 3717) is introduced.
1)H.R. 3717 reduces the authorization of the PAIMI program by over85%.
2)Prohibits the P&A from doing any lobbying or retaining a lobbyist with federal or non-federal funds.
3)Restricts the PAIMI program from pursuing systemic lawsuits or to investigate or seek legal remedies in cases other than individual abuse and neglect cases.
4)Prohibits the PAIMI program from counseling an individual to refuse medical treatment or act against the wishes of their caregiver.
5)It should also be remembered that H.R. 3717 contained language which said that programs that were unauthorized within two years of passage of the legislation could no longer be funded (of which PAIMI would arguably fit that category).
December 2013 - NDRN begins Hill visits expressing our concerns with H.R. 3717 and asking people to not cosponsor the bill.
April 2014 – House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee holds hearing on H.R. 3717 where Nancy Jensen testifies in support of the PAIMI program and is bullied and ignored by Representative Murphy. Sylvia Thompson and Mary Zdanowicz both testify in support of restrictions on the PAIMI program.
December 2014 – With the end of the 113th Congress, NDRN and a coalition of mental health groups do Hill visits to encourage Representatives to not cosponsor the legislation when it is eventually reintroduced in the 114th Congress.
February 2015 - (114th Congress) – House Energy and Commerce Committee holds hearing on release of Government Accountability Office study concerning the Department of Health and Human Services’oversight of federal mental health programs. PAIMI comes up during the hearing, but mostly on SAMHSA’s lack of oversight.
June 2015– The Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 (H.R. 2646) is introduced.
1)H.R. 2646 as introduced prohibits the P&A from doing any lobbying or retaining a lobbyist with federal or non-federal funds.
2)Restricts the PAIMI program from counseling an individual to refuse medical treatment or act against the wishes of their caregiver.
3)Requires the PAIMI program to represent caregivers in getting protected health information.
4)Restricts the PAIMI program to only perform work that keeps individuals free from abuse and neglect.
5)Requires the PAIMI PPR to be made public.
6)Requires a detailed financial accounting of how funds are spent.
7)Creates a new independent grievance procedure.
8)Requires a PAIMI program to advocate for evidence based medical treatment.
June 2015 – Legislative hearing held on H.R. 2646. Mary Jean Billingsley of Kansas testifies in support of the PAIMI program.
July 2015 - NDRN forms a small coalition of organizations to present the consumer voice in mental health advocacy outreach. The group is named: The Coalition for Mental Health Reform and is made up of disability, civil, and human rights organizations working with people with psychiatric disabilities for the improvement of legislative outcomes for mental health reform. It continues to this day to work on both House and Senate versions of bills.
July 2015 - Updated and expanded the #protectPAIMI website -
August 2015 – Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduce a mental health reform bill in the Senate, S. 1945, the Mental Health Reform Act of 2015. S. 1945 has no language on the PAIMI program.
October 2015 – Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee holds hearing on mental health issues. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) brings up the Bruce case and the PAIMI program during the hearing.
November 2015 – Markup of H.R. 2646 held in the House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee - The version of the legislation considered by the subcommittee:
1)Clarified that the lobbying prohibition only applies to federal funds (reiterating already existing appropriations law), and
2)Dropped the requirement that the PAIMI program represent caregivers to get protected health information.
Attempts are made by the Democrats to remove other PAIMI provisions from the bill, but they fail on party-line votes.
Last Quarter of 2015 - NDRN assists with obtaining letters of opposition to H.R. 2646 and the PAIMI provisions from a number of groups and coalitions including domestic violence groups, consumer groups, the Civil Rights Coalition for Police Reform,and LGBTQ organizations.
February 2016 – NDRN learns that the Senate has decided to write a new version of mental health reform legislation, so NDRN returns to do visits in the Senate to make sure that the harmful House PAIMI language is not included in this new Senate mental health reform bill.
February, 2016 – After much outreach from Disability Rights Center of Kansas and Nancy Jensen, a self-advocate from his district, Representative Pompeo (R-KS) agrees to help broker a negotiation of the PAIMI provisions remaining in H.R. 2646.
March, 2016 – Over the course of a couple of meetings and numerous e-mails, language is presented to Representative Murphy’s office that would address the concerns with the most egregious PAIMI provisions remaining in the legislation. Representative Murphy’s office agrees to make those changes.
March, 2016 – New version of Senate mental health reform legislation is introduced (S. 2680) and considered and passed by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
While the bill as introduced does not contain any language concerning the PAIMI program, an amendment is added during committee consideration by Senator Collins (R-ME) to request a Government Accountability Office study of PAIMI looking at a number of issues.
March, 2016- (after working with them foralmost two years)the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sends a letter of opposition to H.R. 2646 and PAIMI program provisionsto Congress with 109 organizations from 15 different issue areas and 26 states.
May 2016 – Following months of negotiations amongst the Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee following the November 2015 subcommittee markup of H.R. 2646, a draft of a new version of the House legislation is leaked. This draft legislation contains 4 provisions concerning the PAIMI program.
1)Prohibits the P&A from doing any lobbying or retaining a lobbyist with federal funds.
2)Requires the PAIMI PPR to be made public.
3)Requires a detailed financial accounting of how funds are spent.
4)Creates a new independent grievance procedure.