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Vote4mentalhealth House Candidates Questionnaire – 1 Primary House Primary Races the Candidates Were Asked the Following Open-Ended Questions

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Vote4mentalhealth House Candidates Questionnaire – 1 Primary House Primary Races the Candidates Were Asked the Following Open-Ended Questions #Vote4MentalHealth House Candidates Questionnaire – 1 Primary House Primary Races The candidates were asked the following open-ended questions: 1. Texas is experiencing a shortage of mental health and addiction care providers, especially in rural and underserved areas. How will you make sure more people have access to mental health treatment and services? 2. State and federal law requires mental health parity, or the NAMI Texas staff and NAMI volunteers sent out a mental health equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance policy six-question questionnaire on Google Forms to every use disorders, compared to physical health conditions, in individual running for a state legislative seat in a contested race. insurance plans. However, individuals in Texas still often Candidates were also provided information on NAMI Texas’ receive unequal coverage for mental health treatment and public policy platform. For now, we are only sharing the results for services. What will you do to improve coverage for candidates who are in a contested primary race. If we have not mental health care? received a completed questionnaire from a candidate, we will 3. At least 30% of individuals in local Texas jails have a indicate that we have not received a response yet. severe mental illness, and more than half of justice- involved individuals nationwide have at least one mental NAMI Texas is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. health condition. What will you do to divert people with We DO NOT endorse any candidates, or rank or alter their answers mental illness from the criminal justice system? in any way. We provide this information to educate you on where 4. Almost a quarter of individuals experiencing candidates in your district stand on key mental health issues and let homelessness have a severe mental illness, and mental you use this information to inform your vote on March 3rd. A illness has been identified as the third leading cause of candidate’s inclusion of answers here does not indicate a homelessness nationwide. How will you help people with preference or endorsement by NAMI Texas. We encourage NAMI mental illness who are struggling with housing? members and mental health advocates to continue asking important 5. Half of mental health conditions begin by the age of 14 questions of legislative and local candidates and and 75% begin by the age of 24, but these issues often go #Vote4MentalHealth! undetected and untreated until they reach a crisis point. How will you promote earlier intervention for people experiencing mental illness? 6. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country, and has faced serious challenges in ensuring individuals in underserved areas have access to health care. What will you do to improve access to health care and reduce our high uninsured rate? #Vote4MentalHealth House Candidates Questionnaire – 2 Primary House Primary Races House District 1 House District 5 Gary VanDeaver (R, Incumbent) Cole Hefner (R, Incumbent) Gary VanDeaver is running unopposed in the Republican primary Cole Hefner is running unopposed in the Republican primary. and in the general election. LaWyanda Prince (D) House District 2 LaWyanda Prince is running unopposed in the Democratic Dan Flynn (R, Incumbent) primary. Dan Flynn has not responded to the questionnaire yet. House District 6 Dwayne "Doc" Collins (R) Matt Schaefer (R, Incumbent) Dwayne "Doc" Collins has not responded to the questionnaire yet. Matt Schaefer is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Bryan Slaton (R) Julie Gobble (D) Bryan Slaton has not responded to the questionnaire yet. Julie Gobble is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. Bill Brannon (D) House District 7 Bill Brannon is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. Jay Dean (R, Incumbent) Jay Dean is running unopposed in the Republican primary and in House District 3 the general election. Cecil Bell (R, Incumbent) Cecil Bell is running unopposed in the Republican primary. House District 8 Cody Harris (R, Incumbent) Martin Shupp (D) Cody Harris is running unopposed in the Republican primary and Martin Shupp is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. in the general election. House District 4 House District 9 Keith Bell (R, Incumbent) Chris Paddie (R, Incumbent) Keith Bell is running unopposed in the Republican primary and in Chris Paddie has not responded to the questionnaire yet. the general election. Mark Williams (R) Mark Williams has not responded to the questionnaire yet. #Vote4MentalHealth House Candidates Questionnaire – 3 Primary House Primary Races House District 10 Janet Dudding (D) Jake Elizey (R) Jake Elizey has not responded to the questionnaire yet. 1. How will you make sure more people have access to mental health treatment and services? Ryan Pitts (R) Ryan Pitts has not responded to the questionnaire yet. It is heartbreaking to know that when people reach out for help, barriers to treatment may include a lack of providers. Evidence Robert "Zack" Rader (R) based practice indicates that telehealth or online access to Robert "Zack" Rader has not responded to the questionnaire yet. providers could be as effective as face to face treatment. Although this modality requires internet access, rural health clinics could be used for site access. We should work with providers to not only House District 11 increase reimbursements for mental health services and substance Travis Clardy (R, Incumbent) abuse, but to offer incentives for those willing to have offices in Travis Clardy is running unopposed in the Republican primary. the underserved communities. These incentives could include office space or modifiers to existing billing codes for greater Alec Johnson (D) reimbursements. Alec Johnson is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. 2. What will you do to improve coverage for mental House District 12 health care? Kyle Kacal (R, Incumbent) Kyle Kacal is running unopposed in the Republican primary and in Most people agree that mental health treatment is important and the general election. should be accessible. However different insurance policies not only offer different levels of coverage, but many have a separate House District 13 deductible or high copays. Mental health care must be accessible Ben Leman (R, Incumbent) and affordable. We should work across the aisle and with both state supported programs and private insurance to increase the Ben Leman is running unopposed in the Republican primary and in access to affordable quality care. Mental health care for our the general election. children and youth should be mandatory and should cover 100% without copays or coinsurance. The State Legislature is already House District 14 working with the public schools to improve trauma focused John Raney (R, Incumbent) interventions. These interventions will only be successful if the John Raney is running unopposed in the Republican primary. children who are referred to services can find a provider and afford to pay. #Vote4MentalHealth House Candidates Questionnaire – 4 Primary House Primary Races to be open to non-traditional interventions to address this 3. What will you do to divert people with mental illness vulnerable population. We should work with the people who have from the criminal justice system? demonstrated best practices, e.g., successful programs and transition programs with support for mental heath. We should work There are very few resources available for chronic mentally ill to expand and duplicate those programs. I have heard of several persons and for persons who find themselves in the justice system ventures with tiny homes, supported living centers and intensive for any reason. I think we have to have multiple responses case management programs. I would be open to learning more about this area. In my County, the Sheriff’s Office formed a Crisis Intervention Team that intervenes in situations involving someone challenged 5. How will you promote earlier intervention for people with mental health to prevent the situation from escalating into a experiencing mental illness? crisis and incarceration or worse. We should duplicate this best practice in our public safety communities. I live within 1 mile of Texas A&M University. Mental health concerns are a frequent and intense need on and off the campus of We need to ensure that school related behaviors due to mental TAMU. We should evaluate the current level of services on ALL health concerns do not result in detention and probation. Students our universities and ensure that there are adequate services. When with mental health issues are often unable to be successful in a person decides to reach out for mental health support, being detention or on probation and end up with extensive criminal placed on a waiting list for a few weeks is not a good option. We histories due to probation violations. Once a student with an need to ensure that all young people have access to mental emotional disturbance has a criminal record and involvement with health. Updating, expanding and increasing providers on college the police, it is much harder to keep them out of detention. I think campuses is a great place to start. For young people in our the legislature is working to increase school safety while communities without being in college, it is imperative to ensure modifying the role of the school resource office to only be community resources are funded and accessible. involved when criminal behavior occurs. (SB 1707). 6. What will you do to improve access to health care and 4. How will you help people with mental illness who are reduce our high uninsured rate? struggling with housing? We should expand Medicaid. I am often baffled at why Texas It is nearly impossible to address chronic mental illness when you chooses to have uninsured persons, when the federal funds are are without safe, affordable housing. However, public housing there for us to expand coverage to many people. Expanding applications, rules and expectations are often difficult to follow for Medicaid will benefit our rural hospitals and may keep their doors those with compromised mental health and the punishment for open.
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