Negotiations on Parity Near Conclusion
Use the toll-free Parity Hotline, 1-866-parity4 (1-866-727-4894), to call your U.S. Representative and Senators. (5/20/08)
House
Passes Mental
Health Parity
March 5, 2008--H.R. 1424 will now be reconciled with the Senate’s
Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 (S. 558). The Bazelon Center calls
on members
of both houses to quickly forge a meaningful compromise. Read more...
Urge
Your Representative to Attend ADA Restoration Hearing
January 23, 2008--Next Tuesday, January 29th at 9:30am, the full
House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the
ADA Restoration Act (H.R. 3195). All members need to hear the powerful
testimony. Read more...
Help Support Fair Pay for People with Disabilities A recent
Supreme Court decision makes it virtually impossible
for many employees who experience pay discrimination to sue their
employers. The Fair Pay Restoration
Act, S. 1843, would correct this problem for victims of pay discrimination
based on disability, age, gender and race. Senators need to hear
now about the need
to enact this legislation. Read more...
Help
Make Mental Health Parity a Reality! On Friday,
December 7th, use the toll-free Parity Hotline, 1-866-parity4 (1-866-727-4894),
to call your Representative and Senators and leave a message urging their active
support for the mental health and addiction parity legislation. Read more...
Children’s Health Care at Stake;
Help Congress
Override the President’s Veto!
October 10, 2007—Congress
is poised for an October 18 vote to override the President’s
October 3 veto of the compromise bill to renew and expand SCHIP—the
program of health care for low-income children. H.R. 976, the Children’s
Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, would authorize $35
billion
over five years to provide healthcare coverage to roughly 10 million
children, about 4 million more than covered over the past 10 years. Read more...
Vote Imminent
on Children’s
Health Insurance
September 15, 2007--Today, the House of Representatives
will vote on the House-Senate compromise that would extend and
expand health
care coverage to low-income children through the State’s
Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). With President Bush threatening
to veto SCHIP legislation, it is imperative to garner a veto-proof
vote in both the House and Senate. Calls to Representatives are
needed now! Read more...
Support Community Choice
September 24, 2007-- "Expanding Options for Long Term Care” was
the subject of a hearing today before the Senate Finance
Committee, focused on the Community
Choice Act (H.R. 1621, S. 799). This legislation would be a dramatic
and welcome improvement for people who need a level of care
provided by a nursing home or
an institution
for
individuals
with mental illnesses. It
would require home- and community-based services and supports to
be provided as a mandatory Medicaid service. Read
more...
Comments
Needed on Revised Medicaid Rules; Changes Could Cripple Community
Mental Health
August 20, 2007--Changes in the rules
proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to govern
Medicaid’s rehabilitation service
category could restrict access to intensive community mental health
services needed by children and adults with disabilities who rely
on Medicaid for their healthcare. Read more...
Support Needed Now to Restore ADA Rights
July 23, 2007--On July 26, the 17th anniversary of enactment of the Americans
with Disabilities Act, House Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) will introduce
the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 to correct serious problems in courts'
rulings on the law's protections. Please call your Representative now to
co-sponsor this critical legislation. Read
more...
Act Now to Stop Proposed Changes to Job Corps Health
Questionnaire that Discriminate Against People with Mental Disabilities
May
15, 2007--The Department of Labor (DOL) has published proposed
changes (April 3, 2007, Federal Register, Vol. 72, Number
63) in form EFA 6-53, the
health questionnaire used for enrollment in the Job Corps program. The changes
expand the questions to ask about the applicant’s mental health treatment
and whether the applicant has ever had certain specific mental health-related
conditions. The changes are particularly unnecessarily broad and stigmatizing,
and may deter people with mental illnesses from seeking necessary treatment.
Read more...
States May Alter Policies on Criminal Background Checks for Gun
Purchases
May 17, 2007--As a result of the publicity surrounding
the recent shootings at Virginia Tech, many states are re-examining
their
rules and practices for submitting the names of certain people
with mental disabilities to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
list of individuals who are barred from purchasing a gun. Read
more...
Please
Urge Lawmakers to Co-Sponsor the Keeping Families Together
Act
February
12 , 2007—Ask your Senators and
Representative to co-sponsor the Keeping Families Together
Act (KFTA). The bill was introduced in the House by Representatives
Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Pete Stark (D-CA) and Patrick Kennedy
(D-RI) and by Senators Collins (R-ME) and Tom Harkin (D-IA)
in the
Senate. This bipartisan legislation is vital to address the
tragically common practice of child custody relinquishment
solely to gain access to necessary mental health treatment.Read more...
Your Chance to Speak Out for a Federal Parity Law
January 22, 2007—Americans who have experienced mental illness or addiction have a chance to tell Congress about the need for equal access to health insurance in hearings around the country in coming weeks.The hearings are part of "The Campaign to Insure Mental Health and Addiction Equity," sponsored by Representatives Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Take action!
Medicaid Rule on Citizenship Still Threatens Access to Care
Many U.S. citizens who are Medicaid-eligible―including people with mental illnesses, foster children and the homeless―are at risk of being denied access to essential health and mental health services because they cannot produce the necessary documents on a timely basis. But, you can help change these rules by taking action here.
Stand Up for Medicaid!
March 3, 2006—On Tuesday, March 7, at 11:30 am, hundreds of everyday people will converge on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to protest slash-and-burn budget cuts that would cut off millions of Americans’ access to crucial health services. Take action!
Danger – Red Tape Ahead! Medicaid Recipients Will Have to Document Citizenship February 28, 2006—Children and adults who receive Medicaid will soon risk losing their eligibility if they can’t show the correct documents to prove U.S. Citizenship. If they lose eligibility, the federal government will not reimburse any mental health or other Medicaid services provided to them. That means that states and local mental health providers could lose substantial funding. Read more.
Federal Mental Health Funding at Risk in Next Year’s Budget
February 23, 2006 —President Bush sent his budget proposal to Congress this month, detailing the Administration’s spending plan for fiscal year 2007, starting October 1, 2006. If passed as submitted, the $2.77-trillion package would make deep cuts and eliminate many discretionary programs, while showering increases on defense and homeland security. Read more and take action now!
January 31st is the Last Chance!
On February 1, 2006, the House of Representatives will vote on S. 1932, the draconian budget-cuts the Senate forestalled in a last-minute maneuver before Congress adjourned (see our December 23 Alert). If approved by the House as it stands, S. 1932 will set the 2006 federal budget for Medicaid and other programs and gravely harm millions of Americans with mental illnesses.Read more and take action now!
Another Chance to Stop Medicaid Cuts December 23, 2005—The draconian budget reconciliation bill that cuts Medicaid and other programs for low-income people was derailed in the Senate by a last-minute procedural move. As a result, the bill was not enacted into law. This gives advocates for low-income people another chance to fight these drastic changes. When Congress returns at the end of January 2006, the House will again take up the issue.
Senators Hold Key to Preserving Medicaid Safety Net
December 20, 2005 —The Senate is likely to vote today on a disastrous proposal that would dismantle the Medicaid federal health care safety net. The budget reconciliation conference agreement (S. 1932), approved by the House of Representatives earlier this week, would especially harm children and people with mental illnesses.
Near-Final Medicaid Cuts Would Dissolve Healthcare Safety Net December 12, 2005—Congress is about to prepare –most likely this week– a final conference report for the budget reconciliation bills passed by both houses. Cuts to Medicaid in the House version would dissolve the safety net for millions of beneficiaries who rely exclusively on the program to cover health or mental health services. The Senate version would be less harmful to low-income people. Tell your representatives not to make these changes.
A Threat to People with Disabilities
November
13, 2005—Samuel Alito, President Bush’s nominee to
replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, poses
a serious threat to people with disabilities. Having sat on a federal
court of appeals for 15 years, Judge Alito has a record of decisions
hostile to disability rights.
Hurricane
Evacuees May Be Housed at Other Low-Income Families' Expense September 28, 2005—Updated news: On September 23, the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced
a new program
to house victims of Hurricane Katrina. HUD officials said that they
would fund the program with the new, supplemental funds provided
by Congress
for hurricane relief. Days later, HUD has sent legislation to Congress
asking that their remaining FY '05 and '06 housing funds be diverted
to pay for hurricane housing, rather than pre-hurricane housing needs.
Ask
Senators to Vote No on Roberts
September 21,2005 --After careful review of Judge John
Roberts' answers during the four days of Senate hearings on his nomination to
be Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the Bazelon Center for Mental
Health Law has no choice but to oppose his nomination. We already had very
serious concerns about Judge Roberts' expressed positions on disability rights,
and his responses to Senators' questions did nothing to allay our
fears.
