Staten Island Reporter

Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) and Representatives Dan Goldman (D-NY), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) have introduced the Michelle Alyssa Go Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at expanding access to psychiatric resources. The legislation proposes allowing Medicaid to cover care in institutions with 36 beds or fewer, provided they adhere to nationally-recognized, evidence-based standards of care.

The bill is named after Michelle Go, a 40-year-old woman who was fatally pushed in front of an oncoming R train in Times Square by a schizophrenic homeless man with a long history of untreated psychiatric issues. Under a "Transformation Plan" launched in 2014 by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City’s state psychiatric centers lost about 15 percent of their total adult bed capacity. According to New York's Office of Mental Health, the state lost 1,849 psychiatric beds between 2014 and 2022.

"What happened to Michelle Go was a preventable tragedy that could've been avoided had her attacker not fallen through the cracks of our criminal justice system and received access to the psychiatric care he desperately needed," said Congresswoman Malliotakis. "I'm proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to expand the number of psychiatric beds Medicaid will cover, giving more opportunities for New Yorkers with severe mental illness to receive treatment."

"If our country had a more comprehensive and equitable mental health care system, Michelle Go might still be alive today," stated Congressman Goldman. "In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health crisis in America is more dire than ever. We have the opportunity to make sure that the tragedy of Michelle Go’s death never happens again by helping those on Medicaid get the treatment they need."

"We need to do everything we can to ensure Medicaid patients with the most complex mental and behavioral conditions get the care they need," added Congressman Bilirakis.

"We have the opportunity to help millions of Americans living with mental health and substance use disorders," commented Congressman Cárdenas. "The Michelle Alyssa Go Act is an important step in addressing the rising mental health and substance use crisis."

The introduction of this act coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month and is part of several mental-health-related bills Malliotakis has promoted. Alongside this act, she has worked on legislation removing in-person requirements for behavioral telehealth services and increasing Medicare patients' access to behavioral health services.

Specifically, Malliotakis' Increasing Mental Health Options Act of 2024 aims to simplify access for Medicare patients seeking treatment from psychologists without requiring prior authorization from physicians. This bill also seeks to extend psychologists' authority under Medicare and make them eligible for bonus payments similar to those received by physicians working in areas with shortages of mental health professionals.

"This bill would remove outdated, unnecessary barriers to prompt behavioral health treatment for Medicare patients," said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association. "Current law requires that when Medicare patients enter certain facilities, they must get authorization from a physician before seeing a psychologist—a requirement not present in other Federal programs."

Malliotakis emphasized: "The utilization of telehealth services has only increased since the pandemic... we should be doing everything we can to continue expanding access... I’m proud to support efforts making mental health services more widely accessible so patients can receive care more efficiently."