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Florida lawmakers eye ‘gaps’ in mental health system
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32733
Subject(s) - governor , legislature , state (computer science) , mental health , service (business) , house of representatives , business , law , political science , public administration , medicine , engineering , psychiatry , algorithm , marketing , computer science , aerospace engineering
For months, as the COVID‐19 pandemic has raged, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis and top state officials have warned about a looming mental health crisis because of job losses, lockdowns and school closures, the News Service of Florida reported March 11. House and Senate insurance panels unanimously approved bills that would require health insurers and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to provide a link to a state consumer website so customers can submit any complaints about their ability to obtain mental health and substance abuse care. Under the proposals (SB 1024 and HB 701), the Department of Financial Services would have to annually report to the governor and legislative leaders the number of complaints submitted and how they were resolved. The first report would be due in January 2022. Senate bill sponsor Jason Brodeur (R‐Sanford) told members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on March 10 that the state currently doesn't track such complaints from customers with commercial insurance policies or HMO contracts. He said his goal is to have state officials collect and analyze data to learn about coverage gaps that exist under a patchwork of state and federal insurance laws.