Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR84 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	84R15974 KMW-D
2		-	By: Clardy H.C.R. No. 84
3		-	Substitute the following for H.C.R. No. 84:
4		-	By: Raymond C.S.H.C.R. No. 84
	1	+	H.C.R. No. 84
5	2
6	3
7	4		HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
8	5		WHEREAS, National Mental Health Month is observed each May to
9	6		raise awareness about mental illness and related issues in the
10	7		United States; and
11	8		WHEREAS, Good mental health is essential to one's overall
12	9		health and well-being, but each year one in five adults, of any age,
13	10		gender, race, ethnicity, religion, and economic status, face mental
14	11		health issues; and
15	12		WHEREAS, Studies have shown that about a third of all people
16	13		experiencing mental illnesses and about half of the people living
17	14		with severe mental illnesses also confront or battle against
18	15		substance abuse, and about a third of all alcohol abusers and more
19	16		than half of all drug abusers report experiencing a mental illness;
20	17		and
21	18		WHEREAS, People with mental illness can achieve recovery and
22	19		wellness when appropriate mental health services and support are
23	20		available; cognitive behavioral therapy is particularly effective
24	21		in helping people with dual diagnoses learn to cope and to change
25	22		ineffective patterns of thinking, and involving families through
26	23		psychoeducation is an important component of successful mental
27	24		health and substance abuse treatment; also, publication of a
28	25		diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders has vastly
29	26		increased innovation in psychiatric treatment and clarified
30	27		diagnosis in a wide range of practice settings, and current
31	28		treatment is now more objective, consistent, and effective than
32	29		treatment in the past; and
33	30		WHEREAS, Recovery does not happen in isolation, however; it
34	31		requires a sufficient number of licensed health care providers,
35	32		including psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed
36	33		professional counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists, who
37	34		use their training and clinical skills to diagnose and treat
38	35		patients; and
39	36		WHEREAS, "The Mental Health Workforce Shortage in Texas"
40	37		report identifies the lack of mental health professionals and
41	38		primary care practitioners in rural communities, and this shortage
42	39		results in greater difficulty in developing the multidisciplinary,
43	40		integrated service that would be optimal for people with comorbid
44	41		conditions; and
45	42		WHEREAS, As of March 2009, 173 out of 254 Texas counties and
46	43		two partial counties were designated as Health Profession Shortage
47	44		Areas for mental health; state agencies and community health care
48	45		organizations report extensive problems in recruiting and training
49	46		psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed
50	47		professional counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists, and it
51	48		is estimated that only 39 percent of persons with mental illness and
52	49		11 percent of persons with substance abuse issues receive needed
53	50		treatment; and
54	51		WHEREAS, The economic value of providing appropriate and
55	52		timely access to mental health services can be measured beyond
56	53		individual patient benefits to include cost savings to state and
57	54		local hospitals and reduced expenditures by state agencies and
58	55		programs, including the criminal and juvenile justice systems,
59	56		children and family services, housing, and employment; and
60	57		WHEREAS, Increased funding has been provided, but even with
61	58		these new funds, challenges remain to keep up with demand, to ensure
62	59		that the delivery system is strong, and to better integrate
63	60		behavioral health into the traditional health care system;
64	61		professional oversight, training, and clinical experience all are
65	62		essential to the effectiveness of mental health licensees, and
66	63		their success is crucial to meeting the ongoing challenges facing
67	64		the efficient delivery of quality mental health services; now,
68	65		therefore, be it
69	66		RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas
70	67		hereby direct the licensure boards governing the state's mental
71	68		health providers to use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
72	69		Mental Disorders, the International Classification of Diseases,
73	70		and any other appropriately recognized diagnostic classification
74	71		systems, and the billing codes therein, for evaluation,
75	72		classification, treatment, and other activities by their licensees
76	73		and in connection with any claim for payment or reimbursement from a
77	74		health insurance policy issuer or any other payer; and, be it
78	75		further
79	76		RESOLVED, That the 84th Texas Legislature hereby affirm the
80	77		laws and rules applicable to licensed mental health care
81	78		professionals who reach those in need of mental health services.
	79	+	Clardy
	80	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	81	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	82	+	I certify that H.C.R. No. 84 was adopted by the House on April
	83	+	23, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	84	+	voting.
	85	+	______________________________
	86	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	87	+	I certify that H.C.R. No. 84 was adopted by the Senate on May
	88	+	4, 2015, by a viva-voce vote.
	89	+	______________________________
	90	+	Secretary of the Senate
	91	+	APPROVED: __________________
	92	+	Date
	93	+	__________________
	94	+	Governor