Bill Text: NY A04971 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the commissioner of the office of mental health and the director of the state office for the aging shall establish a mental home health services program for the aging to facilitate access to mental home health services to respond to identified mental health needs, including those needs that may have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the aging or families that may not have access to mental health professionals in-person; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to mental health [A04971 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04971-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4971

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 27, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. E. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Mental Health

        AN  ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to providing mental
          home health care services to the aging

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 5.05 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding
     2  a new subdivision (f) to read as follows:
     3    (f)  The  commissioner of the office of mental health and the director
     4  of the state office for the aging shall establish a mental  home  health
     5  care  services program for the aging to facilitate access to mental home
     6  health care services to  respond  to  identified  mental  health  needs,
     7  including those needs that may have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic,
     8  and  for the aging or families that may not have access to mental health
     9  professionals in-person. Such program shall provide up  to  five  mental
    10  home  health assessments, services and visits annually at no cost to the
    11  individual, for acute crisis  response,  mental  health  assessment,  or
    12  initiation of care to reduce barriers and facilitate engagement in long-
    13  term care.
    14    As  soon  as practicable, but no later than August first, two thousand
    15  twenty-four, the offices shall enter into an agreement with a vendor  to
    16  create,  or  use  an  existing,  website  or web-based application, as a
    17  portal available to the aging and providers to facilitate  the  program.
    18  Such vendor shall be determined through a competitive bidding process.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    20  it shall have become a law.


         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00659-01-3