What's happening
This bill expands telepsychiatry services for homebound or isolated elderly and requires a study on geriatric social isolation and mental health.
Why it matters
Expanding telepsychiatry access for homebound or socially isolated older adults could help address gaps in mental health care for those unable to visit clinics, potentially reducing untreated depression and related health issues.
Mandating a statewide study signals a recognition of social isolation as a serious public health issue among the elderly, which could lead to more targeted support and prevention strategies.
The requirement for recommendations on identification, intervention, and public awareness means the bill may influence future training for healthcare providers and community outreach, potentially making it easier for families and caregivers to recognize and address social isolation and its mental health impacts.
By emphasizing telehealth and community supports, the bill could pave the way for innovations in how mental health services are delivered to vulnerable seniors, possibly improving their quality of life and reducing costly hospitalizations.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Expand Virtual Senior Psychiatry
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Reported and committed to finance
- Print number 7173a
- Amend and recommit to mental health and developmental disabilities
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Expand Telepsychiatry for Seniors
In Senate Committee · Rules · Sponsor Aileen Gunther
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7173--A
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 3, 2018
Introduced by Sens. SERINO, ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to telepsychiatry
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (b) of section 7.41 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new paragraph 10 to read as follows:
(10) Telepsychiatry. Programs which offer homebound or socially isolated geriatric patients with the use of two-way real-time interactive audio and video equipment access to provide and support mental health services at a distance.
§ 2. Subdivision (c) of section 7.41 of the mental hygiene law is relettered subdivision (d) and a new subdivision (c) is added to read as follows:
(c) The commissioner, in consultation with the state office for the aging and the department of health, shall conduct a study to consider the incidence of geriatric social isolation, mental health consequences, and their treatment and prevention across the state. The study shall include, but not be limited to an assessment of at-risk populations, the mental health impacts of social isolation, life stages that may put a person at a higher risk of social isolation, and community supports that may be developed to help address these concerns. The study shall provide recommendations on effective identification of social isolation, including specific recommendations for health care practitioners, intervention techniques, and the development of telehealth, telemedicine, and telepsychiatry programs to meet the needs of homebound and socially isolated geriatric patients who may be suffering from depression, mental illness, or other health consequences. The study shall also consider the development of public awareness information materials that the office may distribute to raise awareness of social isolation in older adults and the health consequences. The commissioner shall deliver the report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than October first, two thousand nineteen.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13687-06-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to telepsychiatry
Purpose
To promote the use of telepsychiatry to address geriatric social isolation
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends the Geriatric Service Demonstration Program of the mental hygiene law to add telepsychiatry programs that offer socially isolated geriatric patients access to mental health services at a distance to the purposes for which grants may be awarded under the program.
Read the full memo (617 words)
Section 2: Directs the Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health, in consultation with the State Office for the Aging and Department of Health, to study the issue of geriatric social isolation, including an assessment of at-risk populations, the mental health impacts, life stag- es that may put a person at higher risk and community supports that may help address these concerns. The study shall provide recommendations, including recommendations regarding the development of telehealth, tele- medicine, and telepsychiatry to meet the needs of homebound and social isolated geriatric patients suffering from depression, mental illness, or other health consequences.
Section 3: Establishes the effective date.
Justification
According to a study by the AARP Public Policy Institute and Stanford University, social isolation among older persons puts them at a greater risk for poor health and an early death compared to those who are not isolated. The study also estimated that there are as many as 4 million socially isolated older adults in traditional fee-for-service Medicare in the United States, and that social isolation adds $6.7 billion in Medicare costs each year - indicators of the significant health care costs that are incurred based on social isolation and loneliness in seniors. As the state's population continues to age and health care costs continue to rise, it is critical that the state takes innovative steps to address the needs of our aging population, including through the use of telepsychiatry services.
Telepsychiatry services have supplemented mental health care both nationally and within our State. The benefits of telepsychiatry programs are notable, particularly as mental health services face significant cuts. In fact, it has been argued that telepsychiatry might currently have more cost-effective savings than telehealth/telemedicine counter- parts given that psychiatric patients have a higher propensity to use emergency rooms due to the lack of comparable service in their communi- ties.
This legislation establishes a telepsychiatry component under the geria- tric service demonstration program to promote grant funding in this area. While telepsychiatry has broad implications for people of all age groups, it presents significant opportunities to provide for treatment to the growing aging population. According to the Office of Mental Health, the number of people in New York State aged 65 or older is expected to increase more than 50% between 2000 and 2030. By extension, the number of adults over 65 in New York State who have mental illness is also expected to increase by 56% during the same time period (esti- mated to total 772,000 people in 2030). This is especially important as we see the increase in prevalence of age-related behavioral health issues as well, including those related to dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease.
Additionally, this legislation directs the Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health, in consultation with the State Office for the Aging and Department of Health, to study the issue of geriatric social isolation, including an assessment of at-risk populations, the mental health impacts, life stages that may put a person at higher risk and community supports that may help address these concerns, and to provide recommen- dations on how to address this issue, including through the use of tele- psychiatry.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.