New York Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined a $1 billion plan to overhaul mental healthcare across the state, according to a Jan. 9 news release from her office.
Six things to know:
1. The plan would add 1,000 inpatient psychiatric treatment beds.
2. The state will open 150 new adult beds in state-operated psychiatric hospitals, including 100 in New York City.
3. It would also create 3,500 housing units for people with mental illness, who are more likely to suffer homelessness than the general population.
4. The proposal aims to bolster insurance coverage for mental health.
5. Expanded outpatient services and better systemic accountability for hospital admissions and discharges are also included as priorities in the plan.
6. The plan calls for increasing Medicaid payment rates for school-based satellite clinics and school-based wraparound services.
"We have underinvested in mental healthcare for so long, and allowed the situation to become so dire, that it has become a public safety crisis, as well," Ms. Hochul said in the news release. "This proposal marks a monumental shift to make sure no one falls through the cracks and to finally and fully meet the mental health needs of all New Yorkers."