

6/24/2016

Congress has moved one step closer towards passing a bill to improve services for people with mental health disorders. On June 15th, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed HR 2646 the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act” by a vote of 53-0.

Among other provisions, the bill directs the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to develop a “strategic plan” every 5 years. This strategic plan must include a strategy to improve the mental and behavioral workforce including occupational therapy.

The version of the bill voted on by the Committee in June was less controversial than the original version of HR 2646. The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Upton was largely responsible for the rewrite of the bill, but committee Democrats were also able to add provisions to the bill. They asked that HR 1761, the “Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Act” be included, but the OT language was ultimately not included in the bill voted on by the committee. Rep. Paul Tonko offered the OT in Mental Health language as an amendment, but at the request of the Chairman, did not ask for a vote. He did ask for a pledge from the Chairman to continue to work on ways to include OT in the bill. You can watch Rep. Tonko offer the amendment and speak about occupational therapy in mental health.

It is important to note, opposition to the “Occupational Therapy in Mental Health” language has been related to the National Health Service Corp Loan Forgiveness Program and a reluctance to change the program. There has not been any opposition to labeling occupational therapy as a “mental health profession”.

AOTA was pleased that occupational therapy was included in the SMHSA strategic plan along with other mental health professions and views this as an important step in a larger recognition of OT’s role.

Currently the House is rumored to be voting on the bill in early July. A Senate Committee passed a similar bill in March that also included occupational therapy among its workforce provisions. The Senate could vote on this bill at any time.