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Mental Health America Blog
Mental Health America Blog - Chiming In
By: Paul Gionfriddo, MHA president and CEO
*This statement was also sent as a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee
As President and CEO of Mental Health America (MHA), the nation’s oldest mental health advocacy organization, I am writing in support of Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz as Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
For more than a century, MHA (first as the National...
By Caren Howard, MHA National Advocacy Manager
It’s hard to believe that the U.S. House of Representatives, the legislative body of the people, by the people, and for the people, would seriously consider a health care bill that harms people by eliminating their eligibility to a health insurance plan.
I think everyone agrees, Democrats and Republicans alike, that Obamacare was a...
By Mike Thornsbury, MHA National Board Member
Last Wednesday was just a normal day for me - continuing my normal daily routine of fighting with mental illness, but getting up, staying positive and getting to work for the day. I'm in a better place, but still have those days; all of us that struggle have those hopeless days. Most can always put on a good front for the world, but inside is a totally different story.
Then I saw the...
By: Nathaniel Counts, J.D.
Today, Congress is voting on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the Obamacare replacement bill.
As of yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) continued to estimate 24 million people will lose health insurance coverage in the next ten years, and among those that have coverage, they will have less. While these numbers are probably far from exact, no one else has provided a competing analysis and there is no reason to doubt the overall trends.
MHA believes that we should treat mental health conditions before stage 4 – we don’...
By: Caren Howard, Advocacy Manager
One in five people in their lifetime will experience a mental health condition and four in 20 people will experience chronic, ongoing issues. Mental health is integral to overall health of an individual throughout their lifespan.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare” helped people in need of mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) treatment because it no longer permitted insurance companies to exclude MH/SUD treatment from benefits. Companies now have to provide insurance plans that cover annual doctor’s visits and other...
By: Debbie Plotnick
As Vice President for Mental Health and Systems Advocacy at Mental Health America it’s my job to work to change hearts, minds, and especially policy. As I think about where we’ve been regarding access to mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) treatment, I see unprecedented (although maybe not perfect) successes that have happened over the last few years. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), or it’s more commonly known as Obamacare, is (without hyperbole) the best thing to happen to access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment...
By: Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO
As the past few days and weeks have unfolded, it is becoming increasingly clear how the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA) as currently drafted will have mostly unintended, mostly negative consequences for people with behavioral health conditions. We believe that these consequences easily could and should be mitigated.
At a very high level, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring analysis suggests that millions of Americans with mental health and substance use conditions will have less access to the treatment they...
By: Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO, Mental Health America
House leadership has unveiled its Affordable Care Act (ACA) amendment. Cleverly marketed as a “repeal and replace” of Obamacare, it might be more accurate to describe it as something that “retains and revises” ACA. Fundamentally, it keeps health insurance exchanges and “Medicaid for more,” and builds on those concepts....
MHA has traditionally maintained its blog, Chiming In, to be a vehicle for MHA leadership and staff to post thoughts about current events. This month, we are taking a different turn and highlighting some of MHA’s amazing affiliates, partners and associate members as a way to share some of the great work and ideas of our many collaborators. If you are an MHA affiliate, official partner or associate member, and are interested in submitting a blog post, please contact America Paredes at aparedes@...
By: Debbie Plotnick, MHA Vice President of Mental Health and Systems Advocacy
Why am I and why should you be concerned about the prospect of rolling back or eliminating healthcare reforms? If you or a family member has mental health needs, it’s important for you to understand how this could impact you and your loved ones. Let me tell you why, from my personal and professional viewpoint.
People who know me or have heard me speak publicly know my signature story: “Every gray hair says Ashley. And Ashley tells me that I should thank her for two things: my distinctive...
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