March 7, 2024

The NYS Council is proud to be a steering committee member of the HealthyMinds, HealthyKids (HMHK) Campaign that works to identify solutions to the youth mental health crisis.  Last year we worked with HMA consultants on a rate reform proposal to address the real costs of MH care for children and youth, to include reimbursement for all of the work kids providers do that is either not paid for at all, or grossly underpaid. 

Senator Brouck and Assemblymember Gunther co-drafted an op-ed on this topic and the PR firm working with HMHK shopped it for broad distribution to media outlets around the state.  

See below for a look at where it has been published (to date).  Note the request from the HMHK campaign to those of you with relationships to Assembly/Senate representatives around the state (yellow highlight) to share the op-ed with your elected leader immediately.  

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We’re excited that the op-ed by Senator Brouk and AM Gunther advancing HMHK’s rate reform proposal has been published today. Below is a list of outlets that have picked it up, and it is also attached as a pdf.

• The Journal News/LoHud (Westchester)
• Utica Observer-Dispatch
• Poughkeepsie Journal
• Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester)
• Daily Messenger (Canandaigua)
• Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
• Corning Leader
• Elmira Star-Gazette
• Herkimer Times Telegram
• Ithaca Journal
• Middletown Times Herald-Record

Please reach out to your elected leaders and any other contacts with Senate/Assembly leadership to share the op-ed. Below is some language you can use to encourage them to include these priorities in their One Houses.

Dear Senator/Assembly Member:

I am reaching out to draw your attention to an op-ed published today by Senator Samra Brouk and Assembly Member Gunther that highlights the investments needed in this year’s budget to address the children’s behavioral health waitlist crisis in our state.

Specifically, this op-ed calls for an investment of $195 million in the children’s behavioral health outpatient system to address the severe reimbursement rate challenges that have undermined the ability of children to access timely, high-quality services.

I urge you to support this proposal and advocate with Senate leadership to include it in the Senate One House bill.

Additionally, we strongly support Governor Hochul’s proposal in the Executive Budget (Article VII, HMH, Part AA) which would mandate that commercial insurers reimburse Article 31 and 32 licensed in-network outpatient behavioral health services (at a minimum) at the same level as the Medicaid APG rate. Doing so will help decrease the number of families on waitlists and children sent to ERs and hospitals because their families cannot find or cannot afford providers who take their insurance.

We urge you to support both the $195 million children’s outpatient rate reform proposal, and the Governor’s commercial insurance proposal in your One House bill.

Thank you for your time and your support of New York’s children and families.