This just in – PaPS & PSAM provide Press Release in response to PA Joint State Government Commission report on sports betting and interactive gambling
Great work by our Government Relations team taking action for stronger protections against gambling-related harm.
Read the PaPS & PSAM Press Release (PDF)
By: Ken Certa, MD
Just two weeks late, the legislature passed a budget for the commonwealth (it was five months late last year). There are few surprises in a budget dominated by concerns for how we will address the looming crisis in health care as more and more folks lose their Medicaid and Obamacare coverage. We are pleased to see an appropriation for Mental Health Programs of $979.8 million, a $41.2 million or 4.4% increase. This includes funding of $10 million for the 988 crisis line and crisis stabilization walk-in centers.
Of importance to PaPS, the budget does not advance the taxation on “skill games” despite the Pa Supreme Court declaring that skill games are essentially slot machines and should be regulated the same. It is a complicated subject intimately ties to the many concerns PaPS has about the effects of gambling addiction—more on this below. There is also no reliance on taxation of recreational cannabis use, which again is complex but which we have consistently opposed due to the effects of cannabis on the developing brain.
At the same time as the budget agreement was announced, the Joint State Government Commission%20Sports%20Betting%20REPORT%207.14.26.pdf)released its report on gaming. PaPS has lobbied hard to raise awareness of the many ways in which gambling can ruin lives when addiction takes over and sought protections to limit these deleterious effects. Last year we had developed a position statement on problem gambling**and are pleased that most of our recommendations were included in the report. Now we will see if the legislature has any appetite for addressing its reliance on gambling tax revenue.
We sent a letter jointly with Pennsylvania Academy of Addiction Medicine in support of SB 1352, which proposes limiting site visits to addiction treatment facilities to every two years. The reasoning is the need to avoid the degree of preparation needed for site visits which take away from patient care.
We supported HB 2653, an any willing provider provision for behavioral health care. We were successful in introducing an amendment which specifically states that nothing in the act will support expansion of scope of practice by the covered provider.
We sent a letter in support of a ban on cell phones in schools bell to bell, HB 1814. This was not included in the governor’s budget, of concern, since it may be difficult and costly to implement. We were joined by the Regional Councils of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in this effort.
We reviewed HR551, which asks for the appointment of a commission to study behavioral crisis centers. PaPS is one of the entities named to propose a member for the commission, and we have identified a member for this appointment should this item pass.
Rep Mike Schlossberg has posted a co–sponsorship memoconcerning revisions to the Mental Health Procedures Act. One significant change is the call to expand the criteria for dangerousness to include “predictable psychological deterioration.” This is of some concern due to the difficulties of making such predictions and the increased numbers of patients who will potentially be committed with limited beds available. There is a very real problem of identifying an end point to a hospital stay for a patient who has recovered, but who clearly has no intention of getting into any follow-up care.
There has been no further movement on the safe prescribing front (psychologist prescribing) but we again urge members to be in contact with their legislators to help educate them about the differences in training between psychiatrists and psychologists.
As always, Dr. Kathleen Dougherty and I are interested in hearing from members about any concerns regarding state or local governmental actions which affect our members or our patients.
You can contact me at certafamily@aol.com or text my cell 215-817-9411