National Legislative Initiatives
AFSP/SPAN USA continues to support the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which provides funding for youth suicide prevention programs. AFSP, SPAN USA and other leading suicide prevention and mental health organizations collaborated on the development of this legislation several years ago, and have since advocated for its passage and subsequent reauthorization. In 2009, $40 million was allocated to the programs of the GLSMA. Of that, $30 million are designated for state/tribal grants, $5 million for college/university grants and $5 million for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. The GLSMA is in memory of former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith's son, Garrett, who died by suicide in 2003.
In May 2009, AFSP/SPAN USA released a white paper, stating that healthcare reform should emphasize access to mental health and substance use services, reimbursement for early identification of mental health and substance use conditions, better care coordination, as well as accurate data collection on suicides and suicide attempts. This paper has been distributed to leaders on Capitol Hill, leaders of mental health, substance abuse and physical health coalitions, and AFSP's grassroots network of advocates.
AFSP/SPAN USA supports bills passed by both the House (H.R.2647) and Senate (S.1390) authorizing appropriations for the U.S. Department of Defense that will focus on military personnel suicide prevention and postvention. The suicide rate for Iraq veterans is currently 35 percent higher than for the general population, and the Army's suicide rate is the highest in 28 years. A conference committee has been created to work out the differences between the two bills.
AFSP/SPAN USA supports S.2304, which updates an existing law that allows federal grants to be used for the suicide assessment of individuals in police custody and to provide training to law enforcement officials on mental disorders and suicide.
In 2008, AFSP asked its constituency to contact their members of Congress to express support for mental health parity legislation that would make insurance coverage for treatment of mental disorders comparable to other illnesses. In October, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (H.R.1424) passed in both the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the president. Together with other national suicide prevention and mental health organizations, including SPAN USA, and as part of the Mental Health Liaison Group, AFSP has advocated for over a decade for greater health insurance parity for persons with mental illness and for stopping insurance discrimination of those in need of mental health treatment. Accessible and affordable treatment for the illnesses that can lead to suicide will help save lives.
AFSP joined with SPAN USA in support of a U.S. Senate bill to prevent elderly suicide. The Foundation lent its support to the Stop Senior Suicide Act (S.1854). The bill, which SPAN USA helped to initiate, amends the Social Security Act and the Public Health Service Act, repeals the discriminatory 50 percent Medicare coinsurance rate, improves interagency coordination, and provides grants for elderly suicide early intervention and prevention strategies. This legislation was introduced in Congress by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), an honorary director of AFSP who has spoken publicly about the loss of his father to suicide. AFSP believes that this legislation is critical as elderly suicide rates are significantly higher than most other age populations, including adolescents.
In 2007, Congress approved, and the president signed into law, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (H.R.327). The law --endorsed by AFSP -- requires mental health training for Veterans Affairs staff, mental health screening and treatment for veterans who receive VA care and a suicide prevention counselor at each VA medical facility. It also supports outreach and education for veterans and their families, peer support counseling and research into suicide prevention. Suicide rates for young male Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans hit a record high in 2006, the last year for which records are available. Male veterans ages 18 to 29 who use VA services increased to 46 suicides per 100,000, compared with a rate of 20 per 100,000 among male civilians in the same age group. The bill gets its name from a 22-year-old Army Reservist who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following an 11-month tour of duty in Iraq, and took his own life in 2005.
