House introduces the First Responder Behavioral Health Access Act to support mental health care for first responders
Key Takeaways
On September 29, Reps. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Pa.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.) introduced the First Responder Behavioral Health Access Act, which would expand access to mental health care for first responders.
Specifically, the legislation would update federal law so that fire departments, police, EMS, and 911 dispatchers can receive workforce grants to recruit and place mental health providers directly in their agencies.
Due to the traumatic nature of first responders’ jobs, roughly 1 in 3 develop PTSD. Despite these high rates, barriers such as cost of treatment, difficulty getting time off work and limited access to care can prevent emergency services providers from receiving the support that they need. Counties are the first line of response in emergencies, so this mental health strain is felt directly by county response systems and the communities they serve. Supporting our first responders is essential to maintaining strong emergency response systems.
What would this bill do?
The bill would:
- Expand access to grants to support the integration of behavioral health professionals in emergency response systems
- Establish a 3-year pilot grant program that would allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to county behavioral agencies and nonprofit organizations to support the integration of behavioral health professionals and peer-to-peer programs into first responder agencies
County impact
Counties are often responsible for funding emergency response services, and federal support for responder mental health is limited. Though the integration of behavioral health professionals into emergency response agencies has shown itself to be effective, many counties have indicated that funding would present a significant challenge in implementation. This bill would give county health agencies the federal support to place mental health clinicians within emergency agencies and to reach under-resourced communities where access to care is hardest to come by.