Senate Bill S6954

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6954

SPONSOR: SERINO
 
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.

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:

2019-20: S5477 Referred to Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities

2018: S7173A Reported to Finance

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.