Legislative Action: The Next Step
By unifying regional healthcare, human services and behavioral health organizations, Kids’ Minds Matter has successfully made a tangible difference for the families and children in Southwest Florida. However, we need the power of our state and national governments to continue improving access to services, which were already severely lacking throughout Florida and nationally. We need your help to achieve these legislative goals.
Legislative advocacy by citizens with elected officials and leaders is the most direct way to cause change in government policy. Change driven by working with legislatures makes sure they are aware of what is important to the electorate through phone calls, emails and letters about issues.
Please write to your elected offices and ask them to address issues impacting your community’s access to quality pediatric mental and behavioral healthcare. Key initiatives include funding for critical programs, solutions for healthcare workforce shortages, improved access to mental health services, and more. Together we can accomplish real change.
The Impact of Advocacy: Our Voices Bring Change
In March 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Live Healthy bill package as part of the 2024 Legislative Session. This landmark bill package, with its provisions designed to bolster Florida’s healthcare workforce, including mental and behavioral health, and enhance access to crucial mental health services across the state, is a significant step forward for pediatric mental and behavioral healthcare.
The passing of the Live Healthy package is a testament to the power of your advocacy. Your letters to our elected officials, expressing your unwavering support for expanding and enhancing pediatric mental and behavioral healthcare in our communities, made a significant impact. Our state-elected officials heard us and championed the Live Healthy package, led by Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.
While there is still more work to be done, it is important to pause to celebrate and be grateful for the wins. Join us in thanking our elected leaders with a letter of gratitude for working hard for our children and families, passionately advocating for our healthcare, and proactively addressing our communities’ future mental health needs.
Falling Further Behind
The most recent available data highlights ongoing mental health challenges in Florida and Lee County. According to the Florida Hospital Association:
- 15.51% of youth experience at least one major depressive episode a year
- The state has 237 federally designated mental health professional shortage areas, the 6th highest in the country
- 5.99% of youth have a substance abuse disorder
- 11.4% of youth under private insurance lack mental health coverage
Per the 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment, Lee County continues to trail national averages in many areas:
- Access to a mental health provider
- Lee County: 87.3 providers for every 100,000 people
- National: 146.6 providers for every 100,000 people
- Age-adjusted suicide
- Lee County: 14.9 suicides for every 100,000 people
- National: 13.9 suicides for every 100,000 people
- Age-adjusted unintentional drug deaths
- Lee County: 37.6 drug deaths for every 100,000
- National: 21.0 drug deaths for every 100,000
Legislative Strategy
The goal of Kids’ Minds Matter’s advocacy is to emphasize pediatric behavioral health legislative priorities with state and federal stakeholders to achieve positive outcomes for patients.
These initiatives will benefit not only those seeking treatment. Research has proven that mental health medical treatment, whether administered in person or via telehealth, provides benefits that exceed its costs.
Key Initiative: Equal Treatment in Insurance Payments
Ensure equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders in insurance plans. While federal laws like the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) were designed to address this, behavioral health services are still subject to stricter financial requirements and reimbursement rates than medical or surgical services.
Why this matters:
- Health insurance plans, including private and Medicare, have long imposed barriers to accessing necessary behavioral healthcare, often leading to serious consequences.
- Unequal coverage for behavioral healthcare not only limits access but can lead to significant out-of-pocket costs for many Americans.
- In 2017, primary care services were reimbursed 23.8% more than behavioral healthcare.
- Lower reimbursement rates for behavioral health increase costs for patients, potentially reducing their use of essential services.
- Studies show that equalizing behavioral health and general medical benefits will either have no impact or only a minimal effect on overall healthcare costs. The real cost is not treating behavioral health issues.
Bills to Watch:
- Florida
Key Initiative: Address Health Care Workforce Shortages
Take action to reduce workforce shortages, including changes to Graduate Medical Education funding, licensure reciprocity, nursing workforce incentives, and faster visa processing for qualified international medical staff.
Why this is matters:
- Florida ranks 42nd in the U.S. for mental health provider availability, with 550 patients for each provider.
- By 2035, Florida could face a shortage of 59,100 nurses and 36,000 doctors.
- Florida is facing a behavioral health crisis, especially in Southwest Florida, where demand for services has far outpaced the capacity to treat those in need.
Key Initiative: Support Funding for Critical Programs
For a project to be funded by the Florida Legislature, it must be filed as a standalone bill, be favorably considered in committee, and request only a nonrecurring appropriation. Here are three local projects currently being considered for funding that need community support:
- The Lee Health Data Center and Cybersecurity Enhancement Project
- The healthcare sector faces increasing cyber threats, highlighting the urgent need for Lee Health to upgrade its data center and cybersecurity. In 2024, OneBlood suffered a ransomware attack, disrupting blood distribution and reducing operations by 40%, putting patient care at risk. Similarly, UnitedHealth’s Change Healthcare was breached, exposing data of over 100 million people and costing health systems $2.9 billion in damages. The attack delayed insurance payments, forcing patients to pay out-of-pocket for medications. These incidents demonstrate the severe financial and operational impacts of cyberattacks on healthcare systems. Investing in robust cybersecurity and data center upgrades will protect Lee Health’s critical infrastructure, ensuring patient data security, uninterrupted care, and financial stability. Strengthening cybersecurity will prevent costly breaches and maintain trust in healthcare services, making it a vital priority in today’s evolving digital threat landscape.
- The new Fowler/Winkler facility in central Fort Myers brings advanced technology to a distressed area, supporting community revitalization and creating 20 Data Center jobs. The resilient design ensures continuous service during natural disasters and protects sensitive patient data, reducing identity theft risks and ensuring HIPAA compliance. This development will modernize Lee Health’s IT infrastructure, improving security, capacity, and 24/7 availability, while supporting telemedicine and data analytics. The project boosts local economic growth and enhances patient care through improved cybersecurity and reliable operations.
Support the Data Center and Cybersecurity Enhancement Project
- The Pediatric Surgery Center
- The Golisano Children’s Hospital Surgery Center will be a dedicated facility to provide high-quality surgical care for children. With 4,475 pediatric surgeries performed at HealthPark Medical Center last year and a substantial portion (80-85%) being outpatient procedures, there is an urgent demand for a specialized pediatric surgical center. Many of these surgeries, such as tonsillectomies, adenoidectomies, and ear tube placements, could be performed outside the hospital setting, freeing up resources for pediatric neurosurgery, trauma cases, fractures, and more. Families often face a 4-month wait for ENT surgeries. Establishing the pediatric surgery center would significantly reduce these waiting times, ensuring that children receive the necessary care promptly. By providing a more efficient and specialized surgical setting, the center will reduce healthcare costs for families. This is especially important for procedures that require multiple visits or follow-ups.
- The Golisano Children’s Hospital Surgery Center will be located on a 9.5-acre site on the HealthPark Medical Center Campus and will provide specialized pediatric surgical care, improving access and reducing wait times. The center will feature four operating rooms, two procedure rooms, and pre/post-op care. This project will enhance pediatric care, reduce costs, and free up hospital resources for more complex cases, boosting overall healthcare efficiency. The requested funds will support the center’s development, increasing pediatric surgical capacity and improving access to timely care. By relocating 3,000+ outpatient surgeries to this specialized facility, families will experience lower costs and faster access to services, while HealthPark’s surgical resources are optimized for higher-acuity cases. The center will offer outpatient surgeries in ENT, orthopedic, urology, and general pediatric procedures, ensuring high-quality care and improved healthcare delivery in Southwest Florida.
Key Initiative: Improve Access to Mental Health Services
By 2036, there are expected shortages in key mental health professions, including addiction counselors, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Rural areas are especially likely to lack behavioral health providers, forcing residents to rely on primary care providers for mental health services. Contributing factors include inconsistent provider practices, reimbursement issues, and rising burnout rates, which affect the availability and quality of care.
To address these challenges, there is a push to expand integrated care, use health support workers, and increase access to telebehavioral health services. These approaches aim to improve accessibility and the overall quality of mental healthcare.
Why this matters:
- Lawmakers are working to improve access to mental health services each year.