Iowa Enacts Legislation Expanding Access to Mental Health Services

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds yesterday signed legislation expanding access to mental health services in the state. HF 2456 will create 22 community treatment teams to support individuals with mental illness in their homes; six access centers to provide short-term care to those in crisis; and intensive residential service homes for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, among other provisions. The Iowa Hospital Association supported the bill. "Our legislators were united on this issue, just as Iowans have been united and clear that they want a mental health care system that meets their needs close to home and keeps people who need treatment from languishing in emergency rooms and jails,” said IHA Chair Steve Baumert, president and CEO of Methodist Jennie Edmundson in Council Bluffs. “This law makes real progress toward addressing those needs." The governor also signed HF 2305, IHA-supported legislation that requires health plans to cover mental health and other telehealth services the same as they would in-person services.