The Baker and Marchman Acts became law more than 50 years ago and have not been modified to reflect societal changes and advancements of the law and mental health services.
FHA supports the modernization of both laws to consider the dynamics of individuals with serious mental illness or drug addiction who are in a cycle of incarceration, hospitalization, and homelessness.
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The investment in behavioral health services is a priority of FHA, addressing the barriers to access by exploring legislative and institutional opportunities to support and expand access to behavioral health care. Opportunities to expand Floridians access to treatment is investing and expanding funding opportunities in behavioral health community-based behavioral health programs.
Florida is eligible for significant federal funding that it is not currently using. By leveraging federal Medicaid reimbursement for services currently administered through and financed by other state agencies and programs, Florida could tap into hundreds of millions of Medicaid federal matching funds, freeing up state-only funds for other programs.
Opioid use and deaths from overdoses are rapidly increasing. Effective medication (Naloxone) is available to reverse opioid overdoses. FHA supports widespread education efforts on the availability, use, and effectiveness of Naloxone as one means of reducing overdose deaths.
FHA believes that behavioral health care efforts should not solely focus on the individual in crisis. The care of the psychiatric and substance use disorder population must be addressed with a collaborative approach and a plan to address the social determinants of health that work to impede in developing self-sufficiency and resiliency. This can be achieved by expanding community-based support, increasing.