House passes mental health bill
The House of Representatives this week voted 422-2 to approve the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (H.R. 2646). AHA-supported provisions would reauthorize suicide prevention programs and authorize a minority fellowship program for mental health professionals; codify a Medicaid managed care regulation allowing optional state coverage of Institutions for Mental Disease services for adults; and require the Department of Health and Human Services to clarify the circumstances in which covered entities may disclose protected health information of a patient with mental illness. For more on the bill, see the Energy and Commerce Committee summary.
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