Struzzi sees progress for mental health bills he co-sponsored | Local News

Moved to the full House for consideration were:

• House Bill 2686, for which Struzzi is one of 19 co-sponsors, would create a grant program to assist small medical practices in converting to an integrated care model that can deliver timely psychiatric care in the primary care setting.

“In what is referred to as the Collaborative Care Model, a primary care provider leads a team which includes a consulting psychiatrist and behavioral health care manager,” Struzzi said. “The team is assigned a group of patients to track using an evidence- and measurement-based care plan.”

• House Bill 2806, for which Struzzi again is one of 19 co-sponsors, would establish a public awareness campaign for mental health services for first responders, health care workers and other front-line workers.

“Medical professionals, first responders and members of law enforcement have difficult jobs, and we need to do all we can to ensure those individuals on the front lines are taken care of themselves,” Struzzi said.

Struzzi is also working to move his House Bill 1644 through the legislative process, a bill he introduced in June 2021 with seven co-sponsors and the state House passed on May 25, 198-0.

“This legislation, which is sitting in a Senate committee, would develop a statewide process to place patients, enrolled in Medicaid, with behavioral health or other long-term care needs in appropriate care settings in a timely matter,” said Struzzi. “Nearly two million Pennsylvanians are believed to be battling mental illness, and almost as many are considered to be living in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals. These are problems we can no longer overlook.”