Legislative Alert
Today the Missouri APCO Board voted to support Missouri Senate Bill 24, a bill that would establish the “Missouri First Responder Mental Health Initiative Act” ensuring the rights of first responders to access mental and behavioral health care services and responsive treatment with certain treatment records deemed confidential.
Vice President JR Webb, Chair of Missouri APCO’s Legislative Committee, will travel to Jefferson City to testify in support of the bill before the Senate Insurance and Banking Committee.
It is essential that ALL First Responders - INCLUDING Public-Safety Communications Professionals - have access to the mental and behavioral health services necessary to make their chaotic calling into a sustainable life-long career.
Bill Summary
SB 24 – This act establishes the “Missouri First Responder Mental Health Initiative Act”. This act establishes the rights of first responders to access behavioral health care services and responsive treatment and to have certain records of such treatment be deemed confidential, as specified in the act, and shall not be shared with an employer. First responders shall have the right to seek treatment in any geographic area without restrictions or limitations imposed by an employer or insurance carrier and the right to receive expanded Family and Medical Leave Act protections while voluntarily seeking preventative treatment. First responders shall have the right to have treatment and living quarters in facilities separate from other patients, as well as access to behavioral health treatment for up to 36 months following retirement regardless of Medicare restrictions.
First responders receiving behavioral health services shall be able to seek reimbursement from the First Responder Behavioral Health Grant Program established by this act, in amounts specified in the act. The Department of Mental Health shall make grants to eligible recipients to reimburse behavioral health care expenses, as well as peer support education, prevention and awareness training, software, and other services.
Additionally, this act establishes the “Missouri First Responders Mental Health Task Force” within the Department of Public Safety, with specified members of the mental health and first responder community, to develop recommendations set forth in the act, including access to mental health wellness programs and initiatives, funding for services, education and training programs.
Source: senate.mo.gov