(WXYZ) — In the wake of several 7 Investigations, lawmakers in Lansing are trying to add oversight and more accountability into Michigan’s mental health system.
The House Health Policy Committee voted on two bills; one will require psychiatric facilities to provide all patients with a written copy of their rights, and the other will add outside advocacy agencies to a key state oversight committee.
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Mental health advocates say these small but important changes to the law will have a big impact on patients and their families.
“It was a nightmare for me. It was a nightmare for my family,” said former patient Bri Jackson about what she calls an unnecessary stay in a psychiatric facility back in 2022.
“I felt kidnapped,” said Sarah Guarino about her forced hospitalization in 2024.
Dozens of local patients have told the 7 Investigators their rights were violated when they were locked up against their will inside psychiatric hospitals. Many of them say they were tricked into signing in voluntarily for treatment they did not need and given diagnoses they had never received before.
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“Even though it’s 2025, we still have incidences in both public and private psychiatric hospitals where people are not always treated really well,” said Mental Health Association in Michigan President Marianne Huff. Huff testified in support of the bills last month.
“I'm trying to just get answers for patients,” said State Senator Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills).
Senator Webber is one of several lawmakers now sponsoring legislation that’s trying to add oversight to the mental health system.
“Through your reporting, other reporting we've seen that this is a real problem, and particularly in our psychiatric hospitals. The guardians, the parents, the patients-- they all need to know what their rights are as they enter that facility,” Sen. Webber told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
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Two bills introduced in both the Michigan Senate and the House will help all psychiatric patients know their rights.
Under the current law, hospitals are only required to give patients who are involuntarily hospitalized a written copy of their rights. One of the bills would make that mandatory for patients who are hospitalized voluntarily. If you’re considered a “formal voluntary” patient, you cannot just walk out of a facility. You still need the psychiatrist who’s treating you to allow you to leave. One key part of explaining patient rights is the Intent to Terminate Mental Health Treatment form that patients have the legal right to ask for, but many say they are never told about this option, and they say they are often not provided with the form.
“They’re still not able to leave on their free will. They are kept there as long as the insurance is going to pay, and it’s up to the psychiatrist. So, we need to stop this mental abuse,” said Dorsha Magee, a former patient who testified during the committee hearing Wednesday.
“We do not want barriers to people seeking this very important care at these crisis moments, and it is a barrier to have confusion about your rights, to think that you might be held without knowing why, and to not know what you can do or what the laws are around it,” said Simon Zagata, Director of Community and Institutional Rights for Disability Rights Michigan, during a hearing on the bills in May.
The other bill would add mental health advocates from three outside agencies, including Disability Rights Michigan, the Mental Health Association in Michigan, and the Arc Michigan, to a key oversight committee in the state’s Office of Recipient Rights.
“The Office of Recipient Rights is tasked with investigating psychiatric treatment complaints. However, I have been aware of serious concerns with the office’s response to these complaints,” said Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown), who sponsored the House bills.
On Wednesday, both bills were voted out of committee unanimously and will now be sent to the full House of Representatives for a vote.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com
