Rep. Dan Goldman Introduces Michelle Go Act to Help Alleviate Mental Health Crisis

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10), Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02), Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44), and Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02) today reintroduced the ‘Michelle Alyssa Go Act’ to 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. 

 

Introduced during National Recovery and Suicide Prevention Month, this bipartisan legislation also requires mental health facilities that receive federal Medicaid funding to meet nationally recognized, evidence-based standards formental health or substance use disorder programs. 

 

The ‘Michelle Alyssa Go Act’ is named after a 40-year-old woman who was tragically pushed to her death in front of an incoming 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. 

 

While those suffering from mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators, this tragedy proved a stark reminder of the glaring gaps in our mental health infrastructure that leaves far too many people to fall through the cracks. The bill is supported by Michelle’s father, Justin Go. 

 

“Michelle Go’s tragic death was a preventable reminder of the urgent gaps in our mental health system,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. Too many Americans in crisis are left without access to the treatment they need, cycling between hospitals, jails, and the streets instead of receiving sustained care. By expanding Medicaid coverage for psychiatric beds, this bipartisan bill takes a meaningful step toward closing those gaps, protecting our communities, and ensuring that those seeking help can actually get it. We owe it to Michelle’s memory, and to families across the country, to build an equitable mental health system that prioritizes care, safety, and dignity.” 

 

Congresswoman Nanette Barragán said, “The mental health crisis in America, particularly in Los Angeles County, has a detrimental impact on individuals, their families, and our broader communities. That’s why I am proud to co-lead the Michelle Alyssa Go Act, which would remove barriers for people who are eligible for Medicaid and need behavioral health treatment. This legislation is a critical step forward to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to the services they need and that tragedies like Michelle Alyssa Go’s never happen again.” 

 

Justin Go, father of Michelle Go, said, “The Michelle Alyssa Go Act, shepherded by Congressman Dan Goldman, aims to provide ongoing and less restrictive funding for mental health resources, staffing, and beds to treat those with severe mental illness unable to care for themselves, and who may threaten the safety of others. Had mental health resources been provided appropriately, Martial Simon might not have been released and on the streets, and may have gotten the care he needed. Michelle should have been able to travel safely and freely through New York. Instead, she was murdered by Martial Simon after he shoved her into an oncoming subway train on Saturday morning, January 15th 2022.” 

 

Other original cosponsors of the Michelle Alyssa Go include Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Julia Brownley (CA-26), and Mike Lawler (NY-17). 

 

Jeri Powell, President, New York Junior League, said, “The New York Junior League remains steadfast in ensuring that Michelle Alyssa Go’s legacy of service and compassion is never forgotten. The Michelle Alyssa Go Act is an important step in helping to provide consistent care to New Yorkers most in need. We are proud to support this legislation as a meaningful way to honor Michelle’s commitment to her community.” 

 

Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), said, "For too long, there has been a discriminatory limit in Medicaid that has arbitrarily reduced the availability of inpatient psychiatric treatment, limiting many people from getting the care they need. "Rep. Goldman's Michelle Alyssa Go Act will help address this issue and strengthen our nation's mental health system by more than doubling the number of inpatient psychiatric beds that certain facilities can be reimbursed for under Medicaid, helping ensure people who need inpatient care can access it. NAMI thanks Rep. Goldman and is proud to support this important legislation."  

 

Stephen M. Taylor, MD, MPH, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), said, “The American Society of Addiction Medicine strongly supports the bipartisan Michelle Alyssa Go Act. All people living with a substance use disorder deserve access to the full continuum of care, including residential treatment, which may offer the best path to remission and recovery for some individuals. Expanding access to these facilities and ensuring that the care they provide is high-quality and evidence-based are two crucial steps to address our country’s addiction crisis.”  

 

Gordon Lavigne, CEO of the Schizophrenia Policy Action Network, said, “Inpatient psychiatric care can mean the difference between life and death for people with schizophrenia and other severe brain diseases. The IMD exclusion causes us to underserve the most vulnerable members of our communities. The Michelle Alyssa Go Act is critical legislation that will help more people get the care that they need and deserve – saving lives and reducing suffering of patients, their families and caregivers, and the community at large.” 

 

Jonah C. Cunningham, President and CE of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD), said, "Administrative barriers, like arbitrary bed caps, block individuals from critical behavioral health services and can divert them to inappropriate settings, like jails.  The Michelle Alyssa Go Act would remove some of these barriers and connect individuals with life-saving care." 

 

Matthew Chase, Executive Director of the National Association of Counties, said, “Outdated federal restrictions on inpatient care have created significant obstacles in providing effective, necessary mental health services. We applaud Reps. Dan Goldman, Don Bacon, Dan Crenshaw, Andrea Salinas, and Nanette Barragán for their bipartisan leadership in advancing legislation to modernize the Institutions for Mental Diseases exclusion. This commonsense reform would help reduce inequities and lower barriers to comprehensive behavioral health treatment in communities across the country.” 

 

Brian Hepburn, MD, Executive Director of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, said, “The Michelle Go Act will assist states to improve mental health care by allowing flexibility for the crisis continuum, specifically crisis stabilization and receiving programs, to better serve communities as the need increases for these services.” 

 

Shawn Coughlin, President and CEO for the National Association forBehavioral Healthcare, said, “NABH supports the Michelle Alyssa Go Act, which would more than double the number of Medicaid-eligible inpatient beds forpeople with mental illness who need critical mental health services. As NABH continues to advocate for Congress to repeal the Medicaid program’s outdated IMD exclusion, we believe this legislation would open access to the necessary behavioral healthcare services in the appropriate setting for those who need it desperately.” 

 

April Moh, Board Member of Stand with Asian Americans, said, “Stand with Asians Americans (SwAA) strongly endorses the Michelle Go Act. Michelle's life was tragically cut short in an incident that highlighted critical failures in our mental health system. This bipartisan legislation takes concrete steps to address these shortcomings by expanding psychiatric bed capacity and raising care standards nationwide. SwAA stands firmly with the Go family as they transform their grief into meaningful action. The passage of this bill would not only honor Michelle's memory but also prevent future tragedies. We urge Congress to act swiftly and pass this essential legislation that strengthens mental health care when our communities need it most.”

 

Wendy Nguyen and Jay Cho of Asian Americans Rise, said, “Asian Americans Rise is proud to support Congressman Dan Goldman and the Michelle Alyssa Go Act. Michelle’s tragic death at the hands of a man who fell through the cracks of our mental health system shook our community to its core. It was not just a personal loss—it symbolized the fear that has gripped millions of Asian Americans amidst the rise in anti-Asian violence. This bill is a necessary step toward fixing the broken systems that failed Michelle. It strengthens our mental health infrastructure and invests in public safety—so that all Americans, regardless of race, can feel safe in the communities they call home.” 

 

Michele Madley, President of the National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health, said, “Our association strongly supports this critical legislation to amend Medicaid’s IMD Exclusion. Raising the cap from 16 to 36 beds expands access to urgently needed services for children and adolescents facing serious mental health challenges. By requiring facilities to meet nationally recognized, evidence-based standards of care, this bill ensures that young people receive treatment that is both safe and effective. It’s a smart, compassionate investment in the health and future of our children.” 

 

Stephen Eide, Senior Fellow for the Manhattan Institute, said, “A shortage of psychiatric hospital beds lies at the heart of the mental health crisis, in New York and across the nation. Those with untreated serious mental illness simply cannot access the inpatient care they need. The result is deterioration and tragedy. Medicaid provides the only realistic way to expanding bed supply at scale. By weakening restrictions on the use of Medicaid for inpatient psychiatric care, The Michelle Go Act will reduce barriers to treatment for those who need it the most.” 

 

Teresa Miller, National Director of Health Initiatives for the Legal Action Center, said,  "As we continue to lose more than 350 people a day to drug overdose and suicide, ensuring individuals have access to a range of treatment options for mental health conditions and substance use disorder is critical. The Legal Action Center supports this legislation as an important step to increase access to the continuum of behavioral health services for those who get their insurance through Medicaid."  

Lisa Dailey, Executive Director, Treatment Advocacy Center said, “The Michelle Alyssa Go Act moves us in the right direction by creating a broader opportunity to fund lifesaving care for people with severe mental illness. Treatment Advocacy Center supports this effort to promote access points as well as the focus on quality standards for care, because hospitals can and should be places of healing.” 

 

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 limit for a facility to be eligible for Medicaid coverage, 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.  

While crime in the New York City subway system has decreased in recent years, high-profile incidents continue to lay bare the need to expand access to long-term psychiatric facilities for those grappling with serious mental illness.  

 

The ‘Michelle Alyssa Go Act’ has been endorsed by the New York Junior League, National Association of Counties, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Treatment Advocacy Center, American Society of Addiction Medicine, National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Association of Behavioral Healthcare, Asian Americans Rise, National Association of Rural Mental Health, Schizophrenia Policy Action Network, Vibrant Emotional Health, Stand with Asian Americans, Legal Action Center, National Association forChildren’s Behavioral Health, REDC Consortium, and the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, & Action. 

 

Congressman Dan Goldman is committed to alleviating the mental health crisis in America. 

 

In May, Congressman Goldman reintroduced the Strengthening Medicaid forSerious Mental Illness Act to create a new package of services under Medicaid that specifically aims to provide care to individuals living with serious mental illness (SMI), sets a national standard for SMI care, and incentivizes states to provide intensive community-based services to treat SMI.  

 

Last Congress, Congressman Goldman joined colleagues in introducing the ‘Expanding Access to Mental Health Services in Schools Act’ to address the urgent need for mental health professionals in schools. The bill would increase the number of mental health service providers in schools, particularly in high-need areas, by providing competitive grants to local educational agencies forrecruitment, hiring, retention, and diversification of mental health service providers.