Attachment to January newsletter
Additional articles, links, videos, etc. from around the Nation
The Kansas City Star: Three Years After Sandy Hook, Mental Health Overhaul Remains Stubbornly Out Of Reach
Nearly three years after a deeply disturbed man killed 26 children and adults at an elementary school in Connecticut, Congress is still struggling to reform the nation’s system for diagnosing and treating mental illness. A major mental health overhaul bill offered in the weeks following the shootings still sits in a House committee, hamstrung by opposition from some mental health treatment experts, privacy advocates and legislators. Similar comprehensive mental health bills have languished since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, frustrating the mental health community and some politicians. (Helling, 11/27)
Politico: Mental Health Bill Collides With Guns — Again
The spate of mass killings over the past year reignited mental health reform efforts in both chambers of Congress. A bipartisan bill is gaining momentum in the Senate, with the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions likely to take it up early next year. The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health recently approved a similar bill, and Speaker Paul Ryan this month said on “60 Minutes” that he wants Congress to move ahead on mental health. But the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, has been working behind the scenes to drum up support for his own mental health legislation, which includes language endorsed by the National Rifle Association. (Ehley, 11/29)
Des Moines Register: Judge Recommends Throwing Out 1 Of 4 Medicaid Contracts
An administrative law judge has recommended that Iowa throw out one of the four contracts awarded to for-profit companies that are in line to manage Iowa’s Medicaid program. The ruling calls for the state to reverse the contract awarded to WellCare, a company that has faced millions of dollars in fines for fraud or mismanagement in other states and last year saw three former executives sentenced to prison for fraud convictions. (Clayworth, 11/26)
Des Moines Register: Concerns Over Medicaid Plan Are Justified
Perhaps the most maddening aspect of Gov. Terry Branstad’s ill-conceived and poorly executed rush to privatize the Medicaid program is the manner in which he and the private contractors he has hired to take over the program dismiss the concerns of others. We understand that some people fear change, they tut. We understand some people are afraid of things that are new and different, they cluck. These reproachful, condescending responses to legitimate, justifiable concerns over the health and welfare of more than half a million low-income and disabled Medicaid beneficiaries demonstrate just how little regard the Branstad administration has for the people of Iowa, only 22 percent of whom support his privatization plan, according to an Iowa Poll in April. (11/28)
The Washington Post: The Problem With Obamacare’s Mental-Health ‘Parity’ Measure
Obamacare expanded health insurance to millions of Americans. But what good is insurance if there are no doctors available to treat them? This month, I found out, first hand. I saw a woman falling through the cracks of the new health-care system, and I tried to help her. ... Obamacare provides mental-health “parity,” meaning mental health is covered as well as any other condition — in theory, an important advance. But in practice, parity was meaningless for Isabella. She is enrolled in one of the CareFirst BlueCross plans from the Obamacare exchange, but when my friend and I searched for psychiatrists within 30 miles of Washington who took her plan, the CareFirst Web site returned none. (Dana Milbank, 11/27)
A Worthy Experiment – Care Instead of Jail – The News Tribune
The Des Moines Register: Senators Question Moving Ahead With Medicaid Privatization
Two Democratic senators are questioning Republican Gov. Terry Branstad's plans to press forward with privatizing management of the state's Medicaid program after a judge's recommendation this week to throw out a contract awarded to one of four companies in line to manage the program. Iowa Administrative Law Judge Christie Scase on Wednesday recommended that Iowa throw out the contract awarded to WellCare, one of the for-profit companies hired to manage Iowa’s annual $4.2 billion Medicaid plan starting Jan. 1. Scase made the recommendation after reviewing and hearing the objections of three companies that are challenging the Iowa Department of Human Service’s competitive bidding process to award the contracts. The companies mounting the challenge — Aetna, Meridian and Iowa Total Care — say the selection process was unfair. (Clayworth, 11/28)
Iowa PublicRadio: Despite Ruling, Branstad Says Medicaid Privatization Still Set for January 1st
Gov. Terry Branstad says the state will move forward as planned with the January 1st deadline for Medicaid privatization in Iowa. That’s despite last week’s recommendation from Administrative Law Judge Christie Scase that the state dismiss one of four contracts it awarded to for-profit companies to manage Iowa’s Medicaid programs. (Boden, 11/30)
Des Moines Register: Branstad: No Reason To Delay Medicaid Privatization
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday that an administrative law judge's recommendation to throw out one of the state's four managed care contracts is no reason to slow the move to Medicaid privatization. He said he has appointed Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Janet Phipps to decide whether to follow the judge's recommendation or to move forward as planned. (Pfannenstiel, 11/30)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: More Resources Needed For Pediatric Mental Health Emergencies
All the perpetrators in the Columbine High school shooting in 1999, the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, and the Newtown Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 suffered from mental illness. Events similar to these have led to increased awareness of the disastrous consequences of untreated depression, suicidality, and aggression among adolescents and young adults. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in youth presenting to the ED for psychiatric care. ... Unfortunately, most EDs which carry this burden are unprepared and unsupported to meet this demand. (Hazel Guinto-Ocampo, 11/30)
The New York Times: Paul Ryan Pushes Changes In Mental Health Care After Colorado Shooting
While Democrats made it clear they believed that Republicans were avoiding the real problem — lax restrictions on access to guns — Mr. Ryan encouraged lawmakers from both parties to present their ideas to address the problems with mental health care. He expressed support for an ambitious proposal that would make major changes to the mental health care system. The bill would, among other steps, create an assistant secretary post in the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate the government’s approach and remedy a shortage of beds in psychiatric hospitals. (Huetteman and Perez-Pena, 12/1)
The Washington Post: Ryan’s Nod Could Get Mental Health Legislation Moving
Congressional Republicans have frequently pointed to mental health in their responses to mass shootings, but Ryan and McCarthy’s remarks this week were notable in their endorsement of a specific piece of legislation — one that had seemed to be gaining bipartisan support earlier this year. “The common theme with these kinds of shootings is mental illness, and this is something that we should not be ignoring,” Ryan said. “Congressman Murphy has a very comprehensive effort underway. He’s put years into this, and that is why we want to see this process all the way through, and this is something that requires our attention.” (DeBonis, 12/1)
USA Today: GOP Focuses On Mental Health After Colo. Shooting
Murphy's bill — which has had some Democratic support — would also reduce barriers for caregivers to provide information with parents or guardians of their patients, and would boost support for "assisted outpatient treatment" for patients with severe mental illness. AOT is basically a court-ordered treatment regimen, with court-imposed penalties for non-compliance. Mental illness causes tens of thousands of death a year through suicide, drug overdoses, and a range of ailments that afflict homeless people with mental illness, Murphy told USA TODAY Tuesday. (Singer, 12/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Ryan Calls for Mental-Health Overhaul After Planned Parenthood Shooting
Mr. Murphy said his bill would enable those with mental illness to receive treatment sooner, making them less likely to become engaged in violent acts. “For those with mental illness, what we ought to be doing is treating the mental illness instead of responding to the crime,” he said in an interview Tuesday. Democrats have called for new gun-control measures and urged Republicans to change their tone against the women’s health organization. (Peterson, 12/1)
The Associated Press: NY Adds Tax Check-Offs On Mental Illness, Women's Cancers
New York taxpayers will have the option of contributing to 13 causes next year that will include educational efforts to prevent women's cancers and against the stigma of mental illness. At the same time, another new state law will generally require spending contributions in the fiscal year they're collected, meant to stop leaving millions of donated dollars languishing as the state comptroller found in a report almost two years ago. (12/1)
— In 336 days this year, there have been 355 mass shootings. (Washington Post)
Overwhelming Majority of States Allow Youth to be
Housed inAdult Prisons
1,200 Youth Are in State Prisons on Any Given Day Across the Country
Link To Full Report
Link To Executive Summary
Hours before San Bernardino shooting, doctors urged Congress to life funding ban on gun violence research
Preliminary reports from the San Bernardino police chief: 14 dead and 17 injured
By Brady Dennis Read more»
Democrats, doctors say mass shootings need public health approach
A group of physicians had asked lawmakers just hours before Wednesday's mass shooting in California to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to once again research gun violence. Read More
The Des Moines Register: Three Large Hospital Systems Sign Medicaid Contracts
Three of Iowa’s biggest hospital-and-clinic systems have signed contracts to provide care to patients who will be enrolled in new Medicaid managed-care programs, Gov. Terry Branstad’s office announced Thursday. UnityPoint Health, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Genesis Health System all have signed such contracts, Branstad said. The news comes amid concern that Medicaid patients would have few choices of health care providers when the new system is to take effect Jan. 1. (Leys, 12/3)
"Fraud, Waste, and Excess Profits"
“Between 10 and 20 percent of state mental health funds are being lost to fraud, waste and excess profits to for-profit managed care companies,” writes Dr. E. Fuller Torrey in the November issue of Psychiatric Times. “This loss is important because even $4 billion, if it was not being lost, could buy three months of hospitalization for 112,000 people, 1 year of supportive housing for 335,000 people, or 1 year of clozapine treatment for 667,000 people.”READ ITALL...
"House Leadership Calls for Passage of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act"
Mental health reform will be at the top of the 2016 agenda, House Speaker Paul Ryan said today in an interview with "CBS This Morning." “The Treatment Advocacy Center commends Speaker Ryan for addressing our nation’s mental health crisis," said Executive Director John Snook. "The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act would revamp the country's mental health system and ensure people with severe mental illness and their families receive the care they need."READ ITALL...
"RESEARCH WEEKLY: The Why and Who of RAISE"
With recent mass media coverage, the NIMH’s seven-year-old Recovery After Initial Schizophrenia Episode project – RAISE, for short – has gone mainstream, not necessarily with all its details intact. In the first of two reports, Research Weekly highlights the more precise reporting in a special section on RAISE and other early-intervention services published in the July issue of Psychiatric Services.READ IT ALL...
College Campaign De-stigmatizes Mental Health
Why Australia Bit The Bullet & Pulled The Trigger On Gun Control
Australia is typically seen as a rough country, filled with crocodile hunters and deadly animals at every turn. It might be assumed that this down-under country would side with pro-gun groups in the wake of the shooting. Prior to 1996 they might have, but after a mass shooting Australia came down on their gun laws and coordinated the buyback of over 600,000 firearms. In today’s gun market, individuals are prohibited from private sales, each gun must be registered to its owner for a “genuine reason.” This reason does not include self-defense. The results were immediate. Over the next 11 . . . .
2. Oakland Minister Stripping Away Church’s Knowledge-Gap On Mental Health
Rev. Donna Allen of the New Revelation Community Church sees a strong need among her congregants for help recognizing and dealing with mental health problems. (Leila Day, 12/7)
News Service Of Florida: Lawmakers Look To Divert Mentally Ill From Criminal Justice System
A House panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill aimed at keeping Floridians with mental illnesses out of the criminal-justice system. The House Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee supported the measure, filed by Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, that would create a statewide framework for counties to offer treatment-based mental health courts. Many counties have mental-health courts, but they have varying eligibility and program requirements. (Menzel, 12/3)
The Columbus Dispatch: Suicide Solutions Lack Money
Top state and federal leaders in Ohio say much work is needed to combat a largely hushed public-health crisis: suicide. The Dispatch explored suicide’s toll in a six-day series, “Silent Suffering,” published Nov. 17-22. Those stories, available online at Dispatch.com/suicide, detail a mental-health-care system that doesn’t have the money or resources it needs to combat this growing problem. Suicide-prevention experts offered solutions, but many require that all levels of government — local, state and federal — invest in the solutions to save lives. (Riepenhoff, Wagner, Kurtzman and Rowland, 12/6)
Waivers are new battlefront in Republican-led states that expanded Medicaid
Providers, patients and lawmakers in Arizona and Iowa are urging the CMS to reject Medicaid changes proposed by Republicans. But in Michigan, the same array of stakeholders wants the CMS to allow conservative provisions to save the state's Medicaid expansion. Read More
Des Moines Register: Iowa Asks Out-Of-Staters To Tout Benefits Of Privatized Medicaid
The Iowa Department of Human Services tried to put a positive face on Medicaid privatization Monday, asking each of the companies it has contracted with to bring out-of-state residents to tout their experiences to Iowa lawmakers. "Who better for lawmakers to hear from than people who have received coverage from these very companies and experienced first-hand managed care addressing their complex needs?" asked department spokeswoman Amy Lorentzen McCoy. The travel costs were paid by the companies and not the state, Lorentzen McCoy said. (Clayworth, 12/7)
The Washington Post: Three Years After Sandy Hook, More States Cut Mental Health Funding
Three years after the Sandy Hook mass shooting prompted public demands for mental health care reform, an increasing number of states have cut funding for mental health services, according to a report released Tuesday by a mental health advocacy group. The report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness said only 23 states increased mental health spending in 2015, compared to 36 states in 2013 and 29 in 2014. (Sun, 12/8)
The Associated Press: Report: Connecticut Boosted Mental Health Funding In 3 Years
Connecticut is one of 11 states that have increased funding for mental health care every year since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to a new national report. The report released Tuesday also lauds the state for passing legislation that clarifies individual health plans must cover "nervous conditions" and school-based health programs include screening for behavioral or disciplinary problems. (Haigh, 12/6)
Back on Skid Row with Nathaniel Ayers: A Chorus of Hallelujahs for ‘Messiah’ -
Despite deaths, most states not boosting mental health funding
Two reports out this week show how state governments are putting mentally ill citizens in danger. A report from the Treatment Advocacy Center found that at least 1 in 4 fatal police encounters involves the death of a person with a severe mental illness. Read More