Whitmer signs bipartisan bills to improve access to mental health services through Michigan Crisis and Access Line

On Tuesday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 4043 and House Bill 4044, which ensures that callers to the Michigan Crisis and Access Line (MiCAL) have access to information about availability of psychiatric beds. These bills will improve access to mental health services. 

“Mental health is key to maintaining one’s overall health,” said?Whitmer. “I’m proud to sign these bipartisan bills that build on the successful rollout of the Michigan Crisis and Access Line earlier this year, further improving access to mental health services.”  

 MiCAL is a crisis line that is available for anyone in the state who needs behavioral health or crisis response services. MiCAL is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provides Michiganders with crisis services and non-crisis “warm line” services, informational resources, and facilitated coordination with local systems of care such as Community Mental Health Services Programs, Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans, and other applicable entities. In addition, MiCAL integrates with treatment registries including psychiatric beds, substance use disorder services, and crisis residential services. 

House Bill 4043 amends the Mental Health Code to require MDHHS to provide all of the information on its electronic inpatient psychiatric bed registry to the contractor or entity that operates MiCAL.

House Bill 4044 amends the Mental Health Code to enable MDHHS to work with the MiCAL contractor to leverage the electronic inpatient psychiatric bed registry and other sources of information to provide the most current provider information available. The MiCAL contractor must also inform individuals seeking behavioral health care that electronic inpatient psychiatric bed registry data may not be accurate and bed availability is not guaranteed.

These bills were sponsored by Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Twp.