Friday, October 04, 2002

New Survey Shows Americans Support Parity Even if They Have to Pay For It
NMHA press release - "A whopping 83 percent of Americans believe it’s unfair for health insurance companies to limit mental health benefits and require people to pay much more out-of-pocket for mental health care than for any other medical care. And an overwhelming majority of Americans (79 percent) support parity legislation even if it results in an increase in their health insurance premiums..." See also the abstract and executive summary of the survey (Adobe Acrobat). The NMHA site also includes a summary of the case for mental health parity, a copy of a letter signed by 243 organizations that support the legislation and an extensive set links to related resources. Advocacy on behalf of this legislation seems especially pressing given the Washington Post article earlier this week indicating that the bill may "fall by the wayside" during this Congressional session.  
  

Mental Health Patients Lost In Budget Gap
Stateline.org feature - "Across the country, mental health advocates are watching states scale back on services for those suffering from mental illnesses, eroding the quality of care in what many advocates and officials believe is an already under-funded area of state government."  
  

October 10 is National Depression Screening Day
PR Newswire story - "To help those who have been affected by the shocking and disturbing events of the past year, free mental health screenings will be held at nearly 2000 sites across the country ... on National Depression Screening Day, October 10, 2002. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear an educational presentation on mood and anxiety disorders, complete a written self-assessment and talk one-on-one with a mental health professional. Those who appear to need further evaluation will be given referrals to local treatment services." More information and a directory of screening sites is available at the Screening for Mental Health web site.  
  

Revamp for women's mental health service (UK)
BBC story on plans to imrove mental health services for women, "part of the government's ongoing commitment to improving mental health services across the board." The story indicates that the full report "Women's Mental Health: Into the Mainstream" is available at the Department of Health web site, but the link was not active at the time this item was posted.