Jake’s Law is now the law of the land. We Did it!!!!
Jacob Edward Machovsky
Jake’s Law SB1523 & HB2764, Behavioral Health Omnibus
A MULTI-FACETED APPROACH TO COMBATTING SUICIDE AND SUBSTANCE USE THROUGH INSURANCE TRANSPARENCY, INCREASED YOUTH ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTHCARE, AND INFORMING FUTURE PUBLIC POLICY WITH NEW SOURCES OF DATA
The Founders of JEM’s Story
The founders of The JEM Foundation lost their son to suicide on January 11, 2016. Their son Jacob Edward Machovsky was hospitalized twice in under 2 months for suicidal ideation. Both times, Jake was released in only 5 days. The doctor and parents knew Jake wasn’t ready to be released, but the insurance company refused to pay for the needed care. The cost to pay for a facility without insurance was too much, so Jake was released at the end of October 2015. Not even three months later he completed suicide. Unfortunately, they are not the only family affected by inadequate coverage.
So what is Parity?
Americans often have more difficulty getting treatment for mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD) than they do accessing other treatments, even those with health insurance. Insurance plans oftentimes place more restrictions on MH/SUD treatment and many patients find themselves spending more on MH/SUD care. Federal and state parity laws are designed to change this and make health insurance plans treat individuals with mental health and substance use conditions in the same way as physical health
The Need for Parity
• In the U.S., we lose 47,173 people to suicide every year. We can fill Chase Field with those numbers.
• The average stay for kids that are hospitalized for suicidal ideation and mental illness is 3 to 5 days. Most are discharged long before they are ready.
AZ Stats
• Child suicides increased by 32% from 2016-2017.
• 68% of suicide deaths occurred in children 15-17 years of age.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-34.
• On average, we lose someone to suicide every 7 hours.
• According to Milliman, over 41% of patients are having to go out of network to receive behavioral health treatment in Arizona.
• In 2018, we lost 1,532 Arizonans to drug overdoses
• 61.3% of adults with mental illness in Arizona did not receive treatment.
•60.2% of kids in Arizona with major depression did not receive mental health services.
•Approximately 11.7% of youth have private insurance that doesn’t cover mental or emotional problems (higher than the national average).
“Jake’s Law” endeavors to begin addressing this problem and is the result of extensive stakeholder input from insurers, suicide prevention and mental health advocacy organizations, providers, hospitals, and concerned citizens.
Provisions of “JAKE’S LAW”
– Requires insurance cards issued in Arizona to clearly identify which governmental agency to contact for questions or to file complaints.
– Requires insurers to file a comparative analysis report with the Department of Insurance every three years or whenever there is a substantive change in a health plan, demonstrating their compliance with federal parity laws.
– Requires the Department of Insurance to establish a consumer-friendly webpage containing resources pertaining to mental health parity, a step-by-step guide on how to file parity violation complaints, and a summary regarding insurers’ compliance with mental health parity laws.
– Prohibits an insurer from denying a claim for mental health or substance use benefits based solely on the grounds that the service was provided in an educational setting or was court-ordered.
– Establishes a Mental Health Parity Advisory Committee to provide the Director of the Department of Insurance advice on case management, discharge planning, and expedited review and appeals processes for cases involving suicidal ideation.
– Establishes and appropriates $100,000 for a Suicide Mortality Review Team within the Department of Health Services.
– Expands access to behavioral health services in schools by establishing a fund to help students covered by private insurance but who are unable to afford their copay or deductible.
– Requires and appropriates $300,000 to the Department of Education to conduct a study to determine the adequacy of behavioral health services offered in schools.
– Requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to establish rules for discharge protocols for patients admitted for suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt, including information on crisis services, referrals, insurance appeals processes, and suicide risk assessments.
“JAKE’S LAW” INCREASES ACCESS TO TREATMENT BY ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH MENTAL HEALTH & ADDICTION INSURANCE PARITY LAWS
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Talking Points & Press Release
Our Personal Testimony
Our Testimony:
“Madame Chairman, Members of the Committee – for the record, I am Denise Denslow and this is my husband Ben. We are cofounders of the JEM Foundation but today we are here as Jake’s parents.
This was our son Jake, hew was 15 when we lost him to suicide. We have some people that are going to speak today but they brough picture of their loved ones as well that have been lost. I just wanted them to hold up their picture so you can see their loved ones as well. I just want you see past the statitiscs and see that these are real people and real families affected.
Thank you all.
You would have liked Jake, everyone did. He had a passion for airplanes and loved to eat. There wasn’t much he didn’t like when it came to food. He had such reverence and respect for our military and our first responders. In fact, his dream was to be an Air Force pilot. He was never happier than when he was flying, posting videos for his YouTube channel, or playing with his adored dog Loki.
I can still see his smirk when I would give him a hug and a kiss. I still hear the tone of his voice when he said, “maaaaaaaaahm,” in that drawn out, exaggerated way that is equal parts embarrassment and resigned acceptance. He was a teen boy and didn’t need hugs and kisses from his mother. These vivid recollections are among the priceless, precious moments in a collection of finite memories that will have to sustain me for the remainder of my life.
Jake was severely bullied in elementary school and he never forgot what that was like. Despite the challenges he faced as a young child, he had a lot of friends in high school and, true to his character, he always stood up for the kids being bullied and the teen hiding in the corner. He was fiercely protective never wanted any other kid to feel the pain associated with bullying.
Jake struggled with bipolar disorder but most people didn’t know about his struggles with mental illness. He was the kid with the mask, smiling, laughing, and taking care of everyone else. We knew his struggles at home, but he tried to hide them from the outside world. I am still haunted by the heartbreaking memory of Jake after one of his bipolar episodes when he devastatingly stated “mom, I am a monster. It broke my heart and I just hugged him and told him that nothing could be further from the truth, something is wrong and we just need to figure out what that is and get it fixed. I wish he could have seen past the lies his mental illness made him believe about himself because he was so much more than his illness. He was full of life, loved hockey, and wanted nothing more than to fly and serve his country. You really would have liked Jake…I take that back, you would have loved Jake.
Jake’s battle with mental illness began to manifest as early as 2 years old. By the time he hit about age 13 it started getting really bad. When he was 14 he was hospitalized for suicidal ideation. That was in September of 2015. He spent 5 days in the hospital. He was then admitted to an outpatient program. It didn’t work. In October of 2015, he was admitted to the hospital, again. Just like before, they only kept him for 5 days. We spoke with his doctors and shared our concerns, that Jacob wasn’t ready to come home. They agreed but unfortunately, the insurance company disagreed. They said that it was no longer medically necessary for him to remain inpatient. They told us he could go back to the outpatient program. When I told them it didn’t help Jake they said he would have to fail at the program before he would be eligible for another. I told them he had already failed, they said because he had been readmitted to a BH hospital, he would have to go through it again. They said we could appeal. We received a packet of papers in the mail and didn’t know what to do. We were in crisis as much as Jake was. We had no idea what codes to input or what to write on the appeal form. Less than 3 months later he was gone. Had the insurance company been following parity, he would never have been released. If Jake had a cardiac condition and his heart wasn’t strong enough for him to come home, they would have kept him in the hospital. Why was this any different? Because he had a mental illness. Shortly before his 15th birthday, in October, they released him and by January 11 he was gone. We must do better. Jake’s Law will save lives.”
Download full speech transcript >
Press Release
Press Release – Life is…Confronting Youth Suicide in Arizona
