By the 2020 Mom Policy Team

In late February AB 935, the Mothers and Children Mental Health Support Act of 2021: Telehealth: Mental Health Consultation, was reintroduced in the California legislature by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein.

This bill creates an infrastructure for virtual PCP (pediatrician, obstetrician and family practice) mental health triage and psychiatry consultation.

The program provides the consultation service through private insurers and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations/the state’s Medicaid program called Medi-Cal. The bill leans on insurers using the state’s insurance laws calling for provider network adequacy and/or novel solutions like telehealth to close gaps when provider shortages are at play.
The health care service plan/insurer will be required to communicate the availability of the telepsychiatry program to its contracting primary care providers, including obstetricians, at least twice a year, monitor utilization data, and implement improvements to the program when necessary.

Making the Case for Mental Health Provider to Provider Consultation
California, like many states, has a high mental health provider shortage rate according to HRSA.

The Healthforce Center at UCSF projects that the number of psychiatrists in California will continue to decline by 34% from 2016 to 2028 - noting that psychiatric consultation programs to prescribing clinicians, such as primary care physicians, may address these shortages.

Now more than ever, it’s time to increase the capacity for pediatricians, obstetricians, PCPs and ER doctors to detect and develop treatment plans for mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Evidence indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a public mental health crisis, and that mothers and children are particularly vulnerable populations.

A recent study conducted during the pandemic shows that rates of clinically significant anxiety and depression symptoms have more than doubled - rising to 72% and 41% respectively - among pregnant and postpartum women,¹ as they face fears of contracting the virus; reduced support during and after childbirth, social isolation, and lack of childcare due to social distancing measures; and job or income loss due to the economic downturn.

The COVID crisis has also had a negative impact on the mental health of children as they adjust to remote schooling and prolonged social isolation. Tragically, the CDC reports that deaths from suicides among high schoolers now exceed deaths from COVID-19 in this population.² Prior to the pandemic, it was reported that over five percent (5.3%) of children and teens experienced anxiety or depression, and nearly half of children suffering from mental health disorders do not receive treatment.³

Despite professional health care trade associations endorsing the need to screen and treat mental health disorders support is necessary to move recommendations into practice.

Get Involved

2020 Mom is proud to sponsor this important bill and hopes to again gain the support of the 60+ organizations who endorsed the bill in 2019.

See the following links for the bill language, group support letter, and fact sheet.

To add your non-profit, health system or academic institution to the list of supporters, click here.

Individuals, who want to do more, sign up to become an ambassador today, and we will prompt you with action alerts regarding opportunities to help us push this bill across the finish line!

Learn more about the Ambassador Program and sign up here.

¹ Davenport, M. et al. Moms are Not OK: COVID-19 and Maternal Mental Health. Frontiers in Global Womens’ Health, 19 June 2020.

² Buck Institute. COVID Webinar Series Transcript: Interview with Robert Redfield, MD, Director, CDC. 14 July 2020

³ Ghandour RM. et al. Prevalence and treatment of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in U.S. children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2018 Oct 12.