A bill that provides mental health treatment for post-traumatic stress in firefighters passed the House Local Government Committee Wednesday.
Sponsored by Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell), the bill is an add-on to last year’s House Bill 373 — a bill that introduced sweeping changes to mental health services in Kentucky, including adding the 988 hotline.
“Accumulation of stress on the individual responding to those emergencies, sometimes has bad outlets and they need some help and rehab for a mental health injury,” said Brian O’Neill, a Louisville firefighter and legislative director for Kentucky Professional Firefighters.
This new bill adds language to last year’s bill that will enable providers and insurers to treat post-traumatic stress injuries and creates a lifetime cap on benefits.
“Last year, we passed the ball to help firefighters with mental health issues,” Banta said. “They may see horrific things, and many of them experience PTSD and all kinds of issues.”
But, what legislators didn’t do is dig into specific disorders under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — “the bible of mental health,” according to Banta.
“So we added a few things to make sure that nobody got left out of any diagnosis and that they would get the treatment that they needed,” Banta said.
The new bill would also grant reimbursement for mental health services via the Kentucky Fire Commission through the Firefighters Foundation Program Fund.
“They see horrific accidents, and they see horrific things, and they need somebody to talk with to work through it,” Banta said.