Mental Health
Landmark mental health legislation was passed
by the Minnesota legislature in 2021. While this
legislation addressed some gaps in our mental
health system, there is more that can be done.
More than 800,000 adults in Minnesota have a
mental illness, and nearly 200,000 of those
adults needed but did not receive mental
health care. Hospitals and health systems are
dedicated to fighting stigma and providing the
most appropriate care to patients with mental
illnesses, substance use disorders, and cooccurring conditions. Without continued policy
emphasis and additional funding, access will
remain inadequate; available workforce will still
be insufficient; and the struggles to find
appropriate, effective, convenient, and
affordable services will continue to grow.
There is strong bipartisan recognition that
mental health services are at a breaking point
from unyielding demand for services and
workforce shortages. One area of highest
concern is the need to strengthen the continuum
of care for adolescent mental health services
that require residential treatment and homebased care.
MHA urges the legislature to build on its
momentum by:
- Increasing the availability of
Psychiatric Residential Treatment
Facilities (PRTFs) that offer residential
mental health services for adolescents
who do not require inpatient services
but still need a high level of care.
- Seeking improvement of payment
rates for mental health services. State
and federal public health programs –
including Medicare, Medicaid, and
MinnesotaCare, as well as commercial
health insurers – must increase
reimbursement rates to mental and
behavioral health.
- Extending coverage of audio-only
telehealth services. In 2021, the
legislature expanded Medicaid and
MinnesotaCare coverage for audio-only
telehealth services through July 1, 2023,
and directed the state agencies to
conduct a study and develop
recommendations on future coverage.
Given the final version of the state’s
report and recommendations are not
due until 2024, coverage should be
extended to allow for additional data
collection.
- Funding additional Emergency
Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment,
and Healing (EmPATH) units, that use
the emergency mental health care
model. EmPATH units provide an
alternative to an emergency room for
individuals experiencing a mental health
crisis, and are proven to reduce hospital
admissions.
View MHA's 2023 fact sheet on mental health.