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MONDAY: Murphy To Testify Before New Mexico State Legislature

10/16/15

* * * MONDAY* * *

Murphy To Testify Before New Mexico State Legislature

Author of Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act will appear before Health and Human Services Committee

For Immediate Release: Friday, October 16, 2015
Contact: Gretchen Andersen, 202-225-2301

(Washington, D.C) – Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA), author of the bipartisan Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, H.R. 2646, will testify before the New Mexico state legislature Health and Human Services Committee at the State Capitol in Santa Fe on Monday, October 19 at 1pm MDT. Press is encouraged to attend or watch online. 

Invited to appear before the bipartisan panel, Murphy will discuss the findings of his investigation into the federal mental health system, as well as his landmark Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, H.R. 2646.

To understand why so many in need of crisis mental health care go without treatment, Murphy, Chairman of the Oversight& Investigations Subcommittee, launched a top-to-bottom review of the country’s mental health system beginning in January 2013 following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The investigation, which included public forums, hearings with expert witnesses and document and budget reviews, revealed the federal government’s approach to mental health is a chaotic patchwork of antiquated programs and ineffective policies spread across numerous agencies with little to no coordination. 
 
Noting that the federal mental health bureaucracy is anti-patient, anti-family and anti-medical care, Murphy stresses “Reform is essential.” 

H.R. 2646 is aimed at the fixing the flaws in the current system, and orienting resources to handle crisis mental health needs. The legislation brings families into the frontline care delivery team by allowing a doctor to provide the diagnosis, treatment plans, appointment scheduling, and prescription information to the family member and known caregiver for a patient with a serious mental illness. This change would apply for those who can benefit from care yet are unable to follow through on their own self-directed care. 

Murphy’s bill also creates an Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders with mental health credentials within the Department of Health& Human Services to elevate the importance of mental health in the nation’s leading health agency, coordinate programs across different agencies, and promote effective evidence-based programs. It provides additional psychiatric hospital beds for those experiencing an acute mental health crisis in need of immediate inpatient care. Further, the legislation requires psychiatric hospitals to establish clear and effective discharge planning to ensure a timely and smooth transition from the hospital to appropriate post-hospital care and services. 

Murphy’s appearance before the Health and Human Services Committee arrives a week after his column appeared on page A13 of the Wall Street Journal. With 143 co-sponsors H.R. 2646 continues to galvanize support from newspaper editors, physicians, and parents of children with mental illness. More information can be found here.  

WHO: Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA)
WHAT: Testimony before New Mexico Health and Human Services Committee
WHEN: Monday, October 19, 2015 at 1pm MDT
WHERE: New Mexico State Capitol, Room 322, Santa Fe, NM 87501 

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In his seventh term representing Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district encompassing suburban Pittsburgh including parts of Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland and Greene Counties, Rep. Tim Murphy also serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve Medical Service Corps as a psychologist treating Wounded Warriors with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

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