Congressman Dan Goldman’s Michelle Go Act Cosponsored by Co-Chairs of Congressional Mental Health Caucus
The ‘Michelle Go Act’ Would Expand Access to Psychiatric Care by Allowing Federal Medicaid to Pay for Psychiatric Beds in Certain Facilities
Napolitano and Salinas’s Endorsements Signal Growing Momentum as Bipartisan Bill Moves Toward Passage
Read the Bill Here
Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) celebrated the endorsement of his bill, the ‘Michelle Alyssa Go Act,’ by Congressional Mental Health Caucus Co-Chairs Grace Napolitano (CA-31) and Andrea Salinas (OR-06). This legislation would increase the number of federal Medicaid-eligible in-patient psychiatric beds for individuals who are seeking treatment for both mental health and substance use disorders.
The ‘Michelle Alyssa Go Act’ has also been endorsed by the Treatment Advocacy Center, National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the National Association of Counties, the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Stand with Asian Americans, Asian Americans Rise, the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors, the New York Junior League, the Schizophrenia Policy Action Network, and Vibrant Emotional Health.
“I’m proud to receive Co-Chair Napolitano and Co-Chair Salinas’s support for the ‘Michelle Go Act,’” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “The Mental Health Caucus is one of the few remaining settings in Congress where we can still come together in a bipartisan manner to find common ground and help the American people. I look forward to continuing to work with Representatives Napolitano and Salinas to build a bipartisan coalition that will get this critical bill across the finish line in the 118th Congress.”
Congresswoman Andrea Salinas said, “Michelle Go’s death was a horrific tragedy that underscores the need for more accessible mental health in-patient care in this country. That is why I am proud to join as a cosponsor of the Michelle Alyssa Go Act. This legislation addresses a critical gap in the mental health continuum of care by allowing Medicaid to reimburse for services provided at psychiatric or residential treatment facilities that have more than 16 beds. Doing so will help ensure that more individuals can get the long-term care they need. As Co-Chair of the Mental Health Caucus, I’m honored to support this bill and I want to thank Rep. Goldman for his leadership.
The ‘Michelle Alyssa Go Act’ is named after a 40-year-old woman who was tragically pushed to her death in front of an oncoming subway train at a stop in Times Square. After the attack, a 61-year-old man experiencing homelessness with diagnosed Schizophrenia named Martial Simon admitted to shoving Go in front of the train. According to news reports, after showing signs of schizophrenia in his 30s, Mr. Simon spent time bouncing between hospitals, jails, and outpatient psychiatric programs without ever receiving the long-term care he needed.
Under current federal law, Medicaid is prohibited from covering long-term stays for patients between the ages of 21 and 64 who are receiving mental health or substance abuse treatment in a facility with more than 16 beds, known as an Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD). The ‘Michelle Go Act’ would raise the threshold for a facility to be considered an IMD, from 16 in-patient psychiatric beds to 36. This would more than double the beds eligible to be funded by federal Medicaid in statute. The bill also ensures these facilities meet nationally recognized, evidence-based standards of care.
The prohibition on Medicaid coverage, also known as the IMD exclusion, has been in effect since Medicaid was created in 1965 and has resulted in people being unable to access mental health care, as many do not have the funds to cover these services out of pocket and many institutions have downsized their capacity.
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