Healthcare Reform

Policy Brief: The Economics of Crisis Prevention

Restoring the Community Health Network & Ending the Jail-as-Hospital Pipeline

The current "reactive" model of mental health care in Texas is a drain on taxpayers. When we wait for a crisis to happen, we pay for police response, emergency rooms, and jail beds. By returning to the proactive community model of the 80s and 90s, we save money and lives.

The Fiscal Reality: Prevention vs. Crisis

Pillar 1: Reviving the "Roving Nurse" Network

We will re-establish the proactive home-check system within our local MHMR (Mental Health and Mental Retardation) authorities.

  • Preventative Wellness Checks: Roving nurses and peer specialists will visit patients in their homes to ensure medication compliance and stability.

  • Early Intervention: By identifying issues during a routine check, we can adjust treatment plans before a 911 call is necessary.

  • Supporting Families: This network provides a lifeline for families in District 58 who are currently struggling to manage a loved one's care without professional help.

Pillar 2: Intermediary Care Centers (Jail Diversion)

A jail cell is not a treatment room. For those who do reach a point of crisis, we need a "third option" for law enforcement.

  • The Law Enforcement Relief Act: Instead of spending hours booking a mentally ill citizen into jail, officers can drop them off at an Intermediary Care Center in minutes.

  • Stabilization vs. Incarceration: These centers focus on medical stabilization and transition back to community care, significantly reducing recidivism and the "revolving door" of the county jail.

Pillar 3: Closing the Funding Gap (Medicaid Expansion)

To fund this network without raising local property taxes, Texas must bring its federal tax dollars home.

  • Stabilizing Rural Hospitals: Medicaid expansion provides the consistent revenue local hospitals in areas like Cleburne need to stay open and offer behavioral health services.

  • Lowering Private Premiums: When the uninsured get care in community settings rather than ERs, it reduces "uncompensated care" costs that are currently passed on to every Texan with a private insurance plan.

Why This Matters for District 58:

  • For Taxpayers: We stop using the most expensive "hospital" in the county—the jail.

  • For Police: We get officers off the hospital "wait" line and back on patrol in our neighborhoods.

  • For Families: We restore the dignity of care, ensuring that a mental health diagnosis isn't a life sentence of instability.