Both Chambers Pass Mental Health Package

May 26, 2022

On May 22, both chambers passed HF2725 which provides more than $10 million each year for several programs to provide mental health services. 

The bill allocates $9.6 million over two years to expand the use of mobile crisis service teams. These teams are made up of mental health professionals and practitioners who provide psychiatric services to individuals within their own homes and at other sites outside the traditional clinical setting. 

The bill would also provide $2 million for school-linked mental health grants to increase accessibility for children and youth who are uninsured or underinsured and would improve the identification of mental health issues for children and youth. The bill would appropriate money for resources for mental health services in schools and includes incentives to encourage and ease barriers to entering the mental health profession. 

Additionally, the bill includes $1 million in grants to establish or expand programs focused on improving the mental health of healthcare professionals. The grants are available for healthcare systems, hospitals, nursing facilities, community health clinics, federally qualified health centers, or health professional associations. 

It also allocates $1.6 million over three years for a pilot program in Ramsey County to establish mental health urgency rooms for patients under the age of 26 as an alternative to the use of emergency rooms.  The entity must be able to perform a medical evaluation of the youth and accommodate the patient for up to 14 days. 

The mental health package was sent to the governor for signature.