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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) went a long way...

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.

Making the New Year a Good One for Mental Health

By: Nathaniel Counts, J.D. MHA Senior Director of Policy, and Debbie Plotnick, MSS, MLSP, MHA Vice President of Mental Health and Systems Advocacy

A new year, a new Administration, and a new Congress brings new opportunities to best attend to our nation’s mental health. This year, in addition to working with Congress on the pressing issues around health care and social services that surface, Mental Health America (MHA) will have four areas of focus:

Mental Health America Reacts to Senate HELP Legislation

By:  Paul Gionfriddo, MHA president and CEO

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a draft of mental health reform legislation this week and invited comments from advocates.  The committee plans to take it up on March 16.

Why It's Time to Come Together

By: Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO, MHA

Tell Retailers: “Gone Mental” Halloween Costumes are Offensive and Stigmatizing

By Casey Dillon, Advocacy Associate

Halloween costumes are meant to be scary or funny, but costumes such as “Gone Mental” that caricature individuals in psychiatric hospitals are neither. They are offensive and harmful.

Another Big Step in the Journey to Mental Health Reform

By Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO, MHA

Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) have now introduced the Mental Health Reform Act of 2015. While Mental Health America has not yet formally endorsed it or its House counterpart, we consider it another important step toward making comprehensive mental health reform a reality in America.

It builds on H.R. 2646, the Murphy-Johnson proposal introduced two months ago in the House, incorporating many of the provisions that Mental Health America has made a priority in our advocacy for many years.

Celebrating Tim

By Paul Gionfriddo

There are half a million homeless people with serious mental illnesses in desperate need of help yet underserved or ignored by our health and social-service systems. That number can seem overwhelming, but for me, it’s all about one person: my son Tim.

In Response to the WSJ Op-Ed: Mentally Ill, Drink a Smoothie

By Debbie Plotnick, MSS MLSP

Dear E. Fuller Torrey and Doris Fuller:

Early Saturday morning, I saw the op-ed that you both authored which ran in the Wall Street Journal. 

It pretty much was all I could think of over the weekend. At first I was very, very angry. This was because it hurt me personally, as a family member, as a mental health advocate, and as a social worker.

Compassion, Safety, and Rights

By Patrick Hendry, Vice President of Consumer Advocacy, Mental Health America

Download the Paper (PDF)

Disparity, Not Parity

By Paul Gionfriddo, President and CEO, Mental Health America

It’s disparity, not parity, that’s the norm for mental health status and services in America.

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 Alexandria, VA 22314

Phone (703) 684.7722

Toll Free (800) 969.6642

Fax (703) 684.5968


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