In the wake of two back to back mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, one former U.S. Congressman is suggesting we need to do a better job of dealing with mental health issues.
Tim Murphy, who is also a psychologist, tells Larry and Kevin on KDKA Radio that there are some key provisions missing from our current mental health laws, and these include things like, “creating the allowance that insurance, Medicare and Medicaid would pay for more psychiatric hospital bed and people could stay there longer.”
Murphy also says treatment for the mentally ill should be mandatory, especially since many folks don't even realize they're sick.
“And so the idea of taking away someone’s right to force them to get treatment for their mental illness pales in comparison to the fact that once they are in jail, they don’t have rights anymore,” said Murphy.
Murphy served PA’s 18th congressional district (which includes several neighborhoods south of Pittsburgh) from 2003 up until he resigned in 2017.