A bill that would greatly expand Medicaid payments for psychiatric beds has been introduced in Congress, sparked by a New York woman who was shoved in front of a subway train and a raging mental health crisis among people without homes.
The Michelle Go Act, named after the woman who died after being crushed by an oncoming Times Square subway train, is sponsored by an uncommon alliance of a liberal Democrat and a pro-Trump conservative Republican. It could significantly increase the number of psychiatric beds available for longer-term treatment under Medicaid coverage.
Supporters of the measure say it would help address a crippling shortage of psychiatric hospital beds and push construction of treatment facilities.
Medicaid currently covers psychiatric hospital says only if the facility has 16 or fewer beds for patients between the ages of 21 and 64.
The bill would change that quota to 36 beds, thereby increasing the number of psychiatric hospitals eligible for federal reimbursement, sponsors say.
The death of Michelle Go in 2022 unleashed demonstrations in New York City and generated international media attention. The 40-year-old Manhattan financial advisor was standing on a platform at 9 a.m., waiting for an R train at the sprawling Times Square subway station, when she was thrown onto the tracks.
Her attacker was identified as a homeless man with a long history of bouncing from psychiatric facilities to city streets and back again. That revolving door is all too common among mentally ill homeless people, advocates say.
For decades, the number of psychiatric hospitals covered by Medicaid has dwindled as the federal government drastically cut its funding, leaving state and local officials reeling to find ways to finance mental health treatment for those who can't pay for it, according to mental health advocates.
"If we had more beds for mental health care for Medicaid patients, Michelle Go would likely still be alive," the bill's co-sponsor, Rep. Dan Goodman, a Democrat from New York, said Thursday on X.
His partner in sponsoring the bill is conservative Republican and Donald Trump supporter,Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, also from New York. The unlikely pairing was seen by supporters as a hopeful entry into the longstanding funding crisis.
"What happened to Michelle Go was a preventable tragedy that could've been avoided had her attacker not fallen through the cracks of our criminal justice system & received access to the psychiatric care he desperately needed," Malliotakis posted on X Thursday.
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