Legislative Impact on the
Mental Health Care Access Crisis

Wednesday, May 22, 2024
1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST
Zoom - (Link to be sent in confirmation email)

Subject Matter Experts

Cassandra DiNova, Esq. ’16
Adjunct Professor, Albany Law School
Legal Counsel, CDPHP 

Vanessa Bobb MD, PhD, FAPA, CHIE
Vice President, Behavioral Health and Medical Integration, CDPHP

In this webinar, our subject matter experts will explore how legislative measures have influenced access to mental health services in New York State. We will delve into the implications of key laws, including the Ryan Haight Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), and the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (MAT Act). Each playing a critical role in shaping the landscape of mental health care, from expanding telehealth flexibilities to enforcing parity in insurance coverage and ensuring that mental health services in schools are reimbursable. Join us as we discuss these transformative policies and their impact on mental health accessibility, addressing both the strides made and the challenges that persist.

Learning Objectives: 

• Examine the effects of key legislative measures such as the Ryan Haight Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), and the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act on improving access to mental health services in New York State.
• Discuss the implementation and challenges of laws aimed at expanding telemedicine capabilities and ensuring equitable insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments compared to physical health treatments.
• Evaluate the impact of recent legal changes on school-based mental health services, including mandatory insurance reimbursement policies that facilitate greater access to mental health care for students across diverse educational settings.
  

About the Subject Matter Experts

Cassandra DiNova, Esq. ’16
Legal Counsel, CDPHP
Adjunct Professor, Albany Law School

Cassandra Rivais DiNova joined CDPHP in 2023 and currently serves as legal counsel. In this role, she is responsible for advising the health plan on all aspects of health care law. Ms. DiNova also serves as editor-in-chief for the Health Law Journal of the New York State Bar Association’s Health Law Section and as an adjunct professor at Albany Law School teaching mental health law.

Prior to CDPHP, Ms. DiNova worked at private law firms, gaining experience in a wide range of health care matters. She also completed a two-year clinical ethics fellowship at Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical Center where she performed ethics consultations to resolve various types of disputes in the clinical setting and provided ethics education for medical students.

Ms. DiNova is an alumna of Albany Law School, graduating magna cum laude. She also graduated from the Alden March Bioethics Institute with her master’s in science in bioethics as part of the dual degree program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from University at Buffalo. She is a current member of the Albany Law School Government Law Center’s Aging and Disability Law Committee.

Vanessa Bobb MD, PhD, FAPA, CHIE
Vice President, Behavioral Health and Medical Integration, CDPHP

Vanessa Toney Bobb MD, PhD is Vice President of Behavioral and Medical Integration at Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan. She is a board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, and a certified health insurance executive. Dr. Bobb provides physician leadership for the administration of behavioral health benefits for children and adults; and chairs several BH utilization management and quality committees. In addition, Dr. Bobb co-directs the Medicaid managed care children’s system implementation.

A graduate of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Dr. Bobb has treated youth and adults with complex psychiatric and physical health comorbidities. She has presented on topics related to mental health and addiction disorders, health disparities, Value Based Programs (VBPs) and health plan initiatives.  Dr Bobb was awarded honors of distinction for psychiatric excellence, and serves as an ad hoc peer reviewer for the National Institutes of Health Child Health and Human Development, Scientific Review Branch.  She is a past Behavioral Health Co-Leader of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, a former executive committee member of New York Public Psychiatry, a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and serves on the board of directors of the YWCA-Northeast New York.