Ken Biles (Libertarian)
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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: As long as additional taxes are not used, I believe that schools are a perfect place to recognize mental health issues in children.
Do you support additional funding for follow-up care for individuals after a suicide attempt or overdose?
- No: You cannot help someone who doesn’t want help. That is the sad fact. Those who really want help will find it. Those who can’t afford private avenues, will always have other choices, such as churches and other charities for help.
Do you support extreme risk protection orders?
- Yes: If a person can be shown to be a risk to themselves or others, they need to be taken into custody for observation and evaluation.
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?
- No: Medical insurance should be used for catastrophic injury, not every medical issue. By requiring all medical facilities to post prices (just like any other product or service) competition would drop the prices of everything to the point that most could afford it.
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?
- No: See my answer to the prior question. Transparent pricing is the one thing that will make the patient the customer, instead of the insurance company.
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?
- No: Again, this is caused by the insurance company being the customer of the health facility. Remove insurance from the equation, and hospitals and other facilities will be free to help those who need it, instead of filing insurance claims.
Do you support providing state funds to expand capacity for mental health and substance use treatment in underserved areas of the state?
- No: I support the fact that once insurance companies are no longer in charge of healthcare, there will be plenty of capacity for treatment, because 80% of the health professional’s time, which is currently directed at insurance administration, will be freed up, to help those who need it.
Do you support additional state investments in affordable housing with supportive services for people with mental health or substance use disorders?
- No: Any program set up by the state, will fail…miserably. Your elected officials know nothing about mental health, substance abuse, or affordable housing, so why would you believe that they can set up such a program that would work?
