Kamala Vanderkolk (D)
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Do you support school policies and funding that increase the availability of mental health services in schools and early childhood settings?
- Yes: Early intervention is best for all conditions.
Do you support additional funding for follow-up care for individuals after a suicide attempt or overdose?
- Yes: A personal support system is crucial to recovery.
Do you support extreme risk protection orders?
- Yes: If we believe that “Blue Lives Matter”, and our law enforcement officers are begging for it, why would we not support them? My brother has been a police officer for 19 years, and I suspect he would sleep easier with such a law in place.
Do you support strengthening laws and transparency requirements compelling insurance companies to provide coverage for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders that is equal to the coverage provided for a physical illness?
- Yes
Do you support strengthening requirements that insurance companies have enough mental health and substance use professionals to guarantee their members have a choice of provider?
- Yes: Rural patients struggle with this even more. Telemedicine needs to be an option for those who don’t have such professionals nearby.
Do you support requirements that hospitals and other providers report information on treatment availability to help individuals, hospitals and law enforcement locate available treatment for people in crisis?
- Yes: When someone is in crisis, accessing the appropriate help as soon as possible is critical. ERs are not a one-size-fits-all solution for all conditions.
Do you support providing state funds to expand capacity for mental health and substance use treatment in underserved areas of the state?
- Yes: Our rural areas are underserved for all aspects of healthcare. The state must partner with localities to determine such gaps and address them.
Do you support additional state investments in affordable housing with supportive services for people with mental health or substance use disorders?
- Yes: In nearly all cases, providing supportive affordable housing is less expensive (and addresses other issues) than ER visits or temporary shelters. Our state can and must do better for our homeless, including an increasing veteran population.
