Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act Essay

Legislation Grid Template

Part 1. Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Health-related Bill Name Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act
Bill Number H.R. 525
Description The bill proposes amendments to Title III of the Public Health Service Act. The amendment would authorize the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to award federally qualified health facilities grants to conduct behavioral and mental health screenings, and provide mental health services (Congress.gov, 2022). Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act Essay
Federal or State? Federal
Legislative Intent If passed, the bill would improve mental and behavioral health services access and delivery. It acknowledges that contextual factors, such as poverty and poorly funded health infrastructure, compromise the ability to deliver equitable and effective mental and behavioral health services. The bill addresses the contextual factors by making it the responsibility of the federal government to fund efforts to deliver the services (Congress.gov, 2022).

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Proponents/ Opponents Proponents: Special interest groups, persons with mental health concerns, and mental health workers. They are interested in increasing access to mental and behavioral health services.
Opponents: Organizations concerned about the increasing federal expenditure. The bill causes the government to spend more.
Target Population The bill targets persons with mental and behavioral health concerns as it improves access to the screening and treatment services they need.
Status of the bill (Is it in hearings or committees?) The bill is before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, particularly the House Subcommittee on Health (Congress.gov, 2022).
General Notes/Comments

The bill addresses contextual factors that limit access to mental and behavioral health services. With the federal government offering grants, the patients would receive the needed health services.

Part 2. Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
There is a need to pass and enact the bill into legislation. That is because it would increases access to mental and behavioral health services. There is non-parity in health care services so that some of those who need the services fail to access them because of limited availability and cost issues. Even as demand for the health services increases, access has remained a limitation. There are significant disparities along population demographics, such as along region and ethnicity differences. The result is a gap in access to health services (Qureshi et al., 2021). Passing and enacting the bill would address the gap by giving the government the responsibility of funding access efforts. This implies that enacting the bill would expand the full continuum of mental and behavioral health screening and treatment services. In addition, the legislation will prioritize the integration of health services into accessible settings (Truglio-Londrigan & Lewenson, 2018). Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act Essay
The opponents of the bill would argue that while it increases access to mental and behavioral health services, it also increases the government spending. The bill authorizes the government to offer grants that improve access to health services. This means that the government must spend money thereby increasing its expenditure on health care services. Although the legislation would increase government expenditure, the reality is that there are disparities and contextual factors that contribute to the gap in health care services. There is a non-parity in services coverage, an issue that has plagued public health owing to shortcomings in the financing mechanism. Passing the bill address this by presenting a reliable financing mechanism that improves access to health care services thereby improving overall health of the population. With a healthy population, there is an assurance that they would contribute to the economy and enable the government to collect more public funds. This shows that while enacting the bill would case the government to spend more, it would also cause the government to earn more (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020).

References
Congress.gov (2022). All Information (Except Text) for H.R.523 – Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/523/all-info?r=7&s=1
Qureshi, O., Endale, T., Ryan, G., Migue-Esponda, G., Iyer, S. N., … & Murphy, J. (2021). Barriers and drivers to service delivery in global mental health projects. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 15, Article number 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-020-00427-x
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. Elsevier, Inc.
Truglio-Londrigan, M., & Lewenson, S. (Eds.) (2018). Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act Essay

Assignment: Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement
As a nurse, how often have you thought to yourself, If I had anything to do about it, things would work a little differently? Increasingly, nurses are beginning to realize that they do, in fact, have a role and a voice.

Many nurses encounter daily experiences that motivate them to take on an advocacy role in hopes of impacting policies, laws, or regulations that impact healthcare issues of interest. Of course, doing so means entering the less familiar world of policy and politics. While many nurses do not initially feel prepared to operate in this space effectively, the reward is the opportunity to shape and influence future health policy.

To Prepare:

Select a bill that has been proposed (not one that has been enacted) using the congressional websites provided in the Learning Resources.
The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Legislation Grid; 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement)

Be sure to add a title page, an introduction, purpose statement, and a conclusion. This is an APA paper. Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act Essay

Part 1: Legislation Grid

Based on the health-related bill (proposed, not enacted) you selected, complete the Legislation Grid Template. Be sure to address the following:

Determine the legislative intent of the bill you have reviewed.
Identify the proponents/opponents of the bill.
Identify the target populations addressed by the bill.
Where in the process is the bill currently? Is it in hearings or committees?
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Based on the health-related bill you selected, develop a 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement that addresses the following:

Advocate a position for the bill you selected and write testimony in support of your position.
Describe how you would address the opponent to your position. Be specific and provide examples.
At least 2 outside resources and 2-3 course specific resources are used. Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act Essay