On March 3rd 2020, Governor Ducey of Arizona signed S.B. 1523, also known as ‘Jake’s Law,’ into law. Jake’s Law was signed this past Tuesday due to Jake Machovsky’s suicide in 2016. This bill was introduced so that health care providers would be mandated to not only cover
physical health related issues but to also cover mental health illnesses as well.
As of 2017 an average of four lives every day are lost to suicide in the State of Arizona, raising a huge concern to the public. Suicide is the 8th leading death cause for males and 11th for women in Arizona but is concerningly the 10th leading cause in the country. Under Jake’s Law, congress has introduced statutes to expand behavioral health services and hold insurance companies accountable for denying further care.
A Breakdown of Jake’s Law
- Trained staff in making sure insurance providers abide to the law
- Creation of the Children’s Behavioral Services Fund
- Mental Health Parity Advisory Committee
- Creation of suicide mortality team
- 8 million dollars for behavioral services for uninsured and underinsured children
- Research to help prevent future suicides
- Increased follow-up services for suicidal patients
Governor Ducey has a history of taking action on combating teen suicide rates in the Arizona community. Ducey also signed the Mitch Warnock Act which required all school
employees that work with students from 6th-12th grade and AHCCCS employees, to receive a suicide prevention and awareness training every three years. This bill was signed into law May of 2018 and was named after Mitch Warnock who also lost his life to suicide at the age of 18. In addition to these signed acts, in 2018 Governor Ducey also added a 3 million dollar budget to expand behavioral health care service on school campuses.
– Maria Campos Tello
Featured Image Courtesy of Joe Penna
CIMA Law Group Blog 