Roy Blunt: “I would just say that both our States have led in this area. Missouri has clearly been a pioneer in mental health…”

“I would just say that both our States have led in this area. Missouri has clearly been a pioneer in mental health efforts. Our community health centers--many of them--have added behavioral health in the last few years. There are other pieces of legislation out there that add to this mental health first aid, where people, particularly dealing with young people, can take a course. And they do not become people who can deal with your problem, but they may help you recognize if you have a problem and that somebody needs to deal with this. In 2011, Missouri pioneered a program for Medicaid beneficiaries with severe mental illness that is based in community mental health centers and provides care coordination and disease management to address the ``whole person,'' including both mental illness and chronic medical conditions. This combination saves money. I have worked closely with the Missouri Coalition of Community Health Centers, which just celebrated their 35th anniversary and they are very excited about how this legislation could benefit the population they are serving. I also co-sponsored the Mental Health First Aid Act of 2013 to help people identify, understand and respond to the signs of mental illnesses and addiction disorders through a pilot program for mental health first aid training.…”