Important Legislative Items-Immediate Action Needed

Here is information about the Bills that NAMI Utah is taking a stance on. Please e-mail your Senators and representatives about these Bills as soon as possible!

Here is the link to find your Legislators: http://www.le.state.ut.us/maps/amap.html

PDL: (SB 85) The bill to put mental health drugs on the Preferred Drug List will be up in committee on Monday, at 2:00.  We need as many emails as possible to go out to committee members to let them know the need we have for access to mental health medications.  PLEASE take a minute to write a quick email or make a quick call.   It can be as simple as “Please oppose SB 85.”

Here are some talking points:

Mental Health Medications (psychotropics) and the Preferred Drug List

In 2007, the Utah Medicaid Program implemented a “Preferred Drug List” which included an exemption for psychotropic or antipsychotic drugs. 

Mental illness and the medications for treatment can be very complicated.  Missed doses, discontinuation, or changes in doses or specific medication can result in serious relapses which can result in devastating consequences for individuals, families and our communities. 

Prescribers must be able to use their best clinical judgment when prescribing psychotropic medications.  With mental illness, people often have to try many medications and different combinations to find relief of their symptoms and to move on to recovery. 

Because compliance is critical for treatment success, side effects can be very serious, and there is not a “one-size-fits all” solution, medications for mental illness should remain exempt from the Preferred Drug List. 

Here is a list of the Committee members:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it – (Note that he is the bill sponsor)

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it – thank her for her past support on this issue and other mh issues

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - Thank her for her past support on this issue and other Mental Health issues.

Please feel free to come up to the committee hearing.  And if one of these legislators is YOURS, you have an important voice – Be sure to identify yourself as a constituent!

Civil Commitment (HB 14)  http://www.le.utah.gov/~2012/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0014.htm

This bill amends the statute regarding civil commitment to include harmful sexual conduct as grounds for a civil commitment. We are concerned about the impact of this bill for the following reasons and ask that you vote No on House Bill 14:

This bill:

--Takes resources from individuals with mental illness and diverts those resources to pay for treatment of sex offenders.

--Is stigmatizing; harmful sexual behavior is NOT a recognized mental illness.

--Puts a vulnerable population and their families in same treatment facilities as those who exhibit harmful sexual behavior. This is a safety issue. Treatment of sex offenders should be dealt with through corrections where separate treatment facilities already exist.

--Resources are scarce and there are individuals with mental illness who are not getting services. This bill will reduce already limited services for individuals being served through local mental health authorities.

We cannot afford to divert these funds or blur the lines between mental illness and criminal activity.

Again, I ask you to vote NO on House Bill 14.

Involuntary Feeding (SB 194) More info: http://le.utah.gov/~2012/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0194S01.htm

Rep. Derek Brown’s bill, HB 194, Involuntary Feeding and Hydration of Inmates passed out of the House Committee with a vote of 7-2 (4 absent).  The bill will now go to the House.

Verbiage: The "imminent risk" (of death or severe injury) is not in the bill, either for the panel to meet, or for the judicial order to meet. We are asking for language requiring mental health treatment concurrent with the involuntary feeding.  This already is a correctional standard, but this would be an opportunity to statutorily require it. Without this language, we continue to have concerns regarding the impact of this bill on individuals with serious mental illness who find themselves in our jails and prisons.