Advocacy E-News November 15, 2013
November 15, 2013
OBAMACARE WILL ALLOW MORE MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT
With the recent changes made towards ObamaCare, it could have an impact on many Americans including those with mental health issues. Associate Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness NJ, Phil Lubitz told NJTV News the vast majority of the plans sold on the exchange are going to have full mental health parity. This is going to make a difference to possibly one in every four Americans who may at some time be diagnosed with a behavioral health condition.
THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES FALL BUDGET FORUM
The Department of Human Services has scheduled its Fall Budget Forum for Fiscal Year 2015:
For Friday, December 6, 2013, 10 AM – 1 PM at the Hamilton Technology Center, Hamilton Township, NJ 08691
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY: OPTIMISM PREVAILS, BUT CONCERNS REMAIN
The Obama administration last week delivered the final word on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equality Act (MHPAEA): Mental health and substance-abuse issues must be covered by health insurance in the same way as physical problems. Though the act was signed into existence in 2008, its provisions remained unclear and therefore had not yet been enforced by practitioners and insurance companies. GoodTherapy.org decided to check in with our Topic Experts and member contributors to examine the significance of mental health parity as it relates to professionals in the field of psychotherapy.
EFFORTS HELP PEOPLE WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS QUIT SMOKING
Persons with mental illness account for more than one-third of adult smokers in the United States and despite a decline in tobacco use during the past five decades, there has been no change in the smoking rate for patients with poor mental health. To combat reliance on tobacco in mental health populations, experts agree that mental health services and government-sponsored tobacco control programs must work together to improve education and access to smoking cessation programs.
FIND YOUR LOCAL NAMI
