Murphy pledges to reintroduce bill

Several sources have noted that Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) is close to reintroducing the Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act.  In an article in The Hill, he also criticized President Obama for failing to focus on mental health in the State of the Union address on Tuesday, now more than two years after the Newtown, Conn., tragedy. Advocates are still waiting for a bipartisan team to address the weaknesses in the country’s mental health system.

The original Murphy bill called for changes in HIPAA rules to allow providers to share information with patients’ family members and also would divert 5 percent of the Community Mental Health Block Grant to create the new office of assistant secretary, residing outside of SAMHSA.

Read The Hill article here