Bill will expand NY mental health care

Gov. Kathy Hochul has a bill awaiting her signature with the potential to transform New Yorkers’ lives for the better, and to make good on an issue she has promised to address.

Bill A3319/S1001, which passed the state Senate and Assembly, would improve access to mental health providers by requiring commercial health insurers to cover services provided by licensed creative arts therapists (LCATs).

The current insurance system privileges only certain modalities, leaving out vital avenues of healing for those who need them most.

Creative arts therapy offers evidence-based, unique and powerful tools for children struggling to communicate, veterans processing post-traumatic stress, and elders facing cognitive decline.

They offer hope and tangible results where words alone may fall short. Why, then, should families be forced to shoulder the financial burden, or worse, go without?

LCATs make up the second largest group of licensed mental health........

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