I want to first state how devastated I am by the incident that happened in the Deeds family.  It is a tragedy that no family ever wishes to face or have to recover from.  I hope that the healing process for this family goes as smoothly as possible.  I pray they are able to deal with the grief of such an awful tragedy.

                My intent of writing this is to advocate for mentally ill individuals who continually suffer by the regulations by the state and federal government.  The Senator’s son had tried to be admitted for psychiatric care and was turned away because of the lack of available space for him in a psychiatric ward.  This scenario is one that others face daily that does not have the resources available to them that this family had financially. 

                On December 1, 2013, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has decided to implement changes that are sure to negatively impact Medicaid recipients who have documented severe mental illnesses.  The Mental Health Support Services (MHSS) program was implemented several years ago in order to reduce the occurrence of repeated psychiatric hospitalizations, incarcerations, interventions by agencies such as Child Protective Services (CPS), Adult Protective Services (APS), and inappropriate interpersonal relationships with others in the community and within families that increase the threat to others or harm to self. 

The state of Virginia in a cost saving effort has deemed MHSS not worth the money and has made the eligibility requirements stricter.  DMAS has also asked for documentation to prove inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations that have been very difficult to find, since some clients were hospitalized years ago before electronic charting.  The hospitals and other agencies that could provide the documentation are completely overwhelmed with requests from providers of MHSS, and with their staffing shortages have been unable to assist many agencies with the documents necessary to help Medicaid recipients keep their services.

The changes that DMAS and legislators in Richmond have decided are the best for the state budget have completely ignored the goal of programs like these.  If hospitals, jails systems, and other agencies are unable to meet the psychiatric needs of the citizens of Virginia (both rich and poor), then why are they allowing programs to prevent the overcrowding of hospitals, jail systems and other agencies?  The Community Services Board (CSB) who has been given more power and control over programs such as MHSS, will NOT be able to accommodate the needs of this vulnerable population.  There WILL be a negative impact of agencies, society and more families will suffer.

I ask that more attention be given to this tragedy and the impact mental health issues have on families and communities.  I ask that vulnerable populations do not suffer more injustices because of uninformed or uncaring agencies like DMAS and legislators.  I am a director of a mental health agency in Roanoke, Virginia and I am fearful of what will happen to the hundreds of clients our agency serves when the changes are implemented.