RESPONSE FROM BARNEY FRANK, MASSACHUSETTS

September 16, 2008


Ms. Ann Marie Cunniff
13 Norton Glen Road, Apartment 69
Norton, Massachusetts 02766

Dear Ms. Cunniff:

Thank you for contacting me with your support for H.R. 1424, the
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007.
I cosponsored the bill, and was pleased to join with my colleagues
in voting for it when it was passed by the House. With the House
having approved this long overdue legislation, I will continue to do
everything to ensure that mental health parity is mandated.

BARNEY FRANK

BF/JN



In order to ensure that my office is able to record incoming communications
properly, please use the "email Barney Frank" link at the top of the home page
(http://www.house.gov/frank/) underneath my signature if you wish to contact me
again.

PASS PARITY TODAY!

Tell Congress: Pass Parity This Year!

August 7, 2008

Before leaving Washington for the August recess, sponsors of parity legislation reached an agreement on a final bill to require equitable coverage in health plans for mental illness treatment. Now all that is remaining is to find a "budget offset" and resolve how the bill will be sent to the President.

When Congress returns to Washington the week of September 8, there will be only 3 weeks remaining before final adjournment - a critical window to complete long awaited mental illness insurance parity legislation. Congress needs to pass parity before adjourning this year!

Act Now!

1. Tell Congress to pass parity this year! Tell your Senators and Representative to support finishing the job and passing parity legislation. The message from NAMI is simple, "Don't adjourn for the year without passing mental illness insurance parity."

Click here to send an e-mail message to your Senators and House member

2. Reach out to members of Congress while they are home. This week Congress began a month-long summer recess, with members returning to their states and districts to meet with constituents. In addition to calling and writing members of Congress, it is also critical for advocates to reach out and press them at every public appearance during this current "district work period" - at town meetings, campaign rallies, parades, radio call-in programs, county fairs, etc. At these events, remind all members of Congress that:

* Mental illnesses are real,
* Treatment works - if you can get it,
* There is no justification for a health plan to impose limitations or conditions on mental illness treatment that do not apply to all other medical conditions, and
* There is broad agreement on a compromise version of the mental illness insurance parity bill (S 558-HR 1424), now Congress just needs to finish the job and pass the bill so it can be signed in to law this year.
* Do not adjourn for the year without passing mental illness insurance parity

Learn More

Read more about the bipartisan-bicameral agreement on mental illness insurance parity legislation.

Support The Healthy Transition Act of 2008!

NEW UPDATE FROM NAMI

June 30, 2008

Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) hosted a press conference on Wednesday, June 25th to announce the introduction of The Healthy Transition Act of 2008 (H.R.6375/S.3195). This federal legislation is designed to address the challenges faced by young adults with mental illnesses who are transitioning to adulthood by establishing a planning grant program that would allow states to implement effective transition-age mental health services and supports.

Senators Dodd and Smith also announced the release of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report titled Young Adults with Serious Mental Illness: Some States and Federal Agencies are Taking Steps to Address Their Transition Challenges. The report focuses on the tremendous struggles that transition-age young adults with mental illnesses face and several innovative programs that exist in four states to address their unique needs.

Andrew Sperling, NAMI’s Director of Legislative Affairs, moderated the press conference. Amy Lydon O’Connor, a policy assistant with NAMI Connecticut and a transition-age consumer, shared her personal story at the press conference about the challenges she faced in transitioning from youth to adulthood while also managing a mental illness. She was joined by another transition-age consumer and a provider of transition-age services in Philadelphia.

NAMI applauds Senators Dodd and Smith and Representative Stark for their leadership in introducing federal legislation that promises to focus national attention on the need for states to develop effective transition-age services and supports for young adults living with mental illnesses.

Act Now!

Email Congress today and urge your Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor The Healthy Transition Act of 2008 (H.R.6375/S.3195), which will provide state grants for much needed support and services uniquely designed for youth and young adults.

Click here to send an email to Congress!

Learn More

To access the GAO report click here.

To access NAMI’s statement on the GAO report and the federal legislation click here.

ACT NOW! SENATE VOTES ON MEDICARE THIS WEEK!

June 26, 2008

By the end of this week, the Senate is expected to vote on a package of reforms to the Medicare program, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (HR 6331). By an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 355-59, the House passed this legislation on June 24 - thanks to your advocacy contacting House members. It is now critical for the Senate to pass this legislation -with a veto-proof margin of 67 votes - to send it on to the President.

HR 6331 includes a number of critical provisions for Medicare beneficiaries living with serious mental illness. The bill addresses the discriminatory 50% cost sharing requirement for outpatient mental illness treatment, gradually lowering it to 20% as required for all other medical treatment. The improvements also include reforming the Medicare Part D benefit by restoring Part D coverage for benzodiazepines, and ensuring that prescription drug plans must maintain broad access on their formularies to medications to treat serious mental illness - including antipsychotics, antidepressants and anticonvulsants.

Act Now!

Call or email Congress today! Urge your Senators to support HR 6331 - the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. All Senate offices can be reached by calling 202-225-3121.

Click here to send a letter to your Senators

Learn More

View additional background information on HR 6331.

View NAMI's letter of support for HR 6331.

CRITICAL VOTE ON MEDICAID THIS WEEK

Image via WikipediaCritical Vote on Medicaid This Week! Contact Congress Today!

June
18, 2008

Later
this week the House is expected to take up an emergency supplemental
funding measure (S 2642) that includes legislation to delay seven
separate regulations that would result in deep cuts to critical mental
health services under Medicaid. The House has previously
voted in
favor of stopping these regulations and the Senate voted last month to
do the same.

House
leaders are considering removing the delay on at least some of the
Medicaid
regulations, particularly the case management regulation. It
is
critical that the moratoria on all seven regulations stay in the
supplemental funding bill, despite an expected veto
threat from the President.

Act Now!

Please
contact your Representative today and urge support for the emergency
supplemental funding bill and inclusion of the moratoria for all of the
Medicaid regulations. Click here
to send a letter to your House member or call the Congressional
switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected to your House member's
office.

For
more information on these Medicaid regulations, click here.

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NAMI E-News Alerts
are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service.
With more than 1,100 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's
largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of
people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work
can be made online.

THE SENATE REJECTS MEDICAID CUTS ON MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS

Image via WikipediaSenate Approves Emergency Spending Bill, Rejecting Cuts to Medicaid!

On Thursday the Senate, by a margin of 75-22, approved a package of emergency funding for the current fiscal year that includes an amendment stopping Medicaid regulations that would severely impair the ability of states to finance critical mental illness services. The future of the supplemental funding bill is uncertain. A presidential veto has been threatened against any supplemental funding that is beyond the Administration’s requests for military spending. After next week’s Memorial Day recess, House and Senate leaders will be meeting to decide when and how to send the measure on to the president.

This is an important victory in the ongoing effort to stop the seven proposed Medicaid regulations, including those limiting case management and rehabilitation that are central to publicly funded mental illness treatment and support services for both children and adults. Now bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate are on record in favor of imposing moratoriums on these regulations. Your voice has made a real difference!

The Senate package also includes a range of other funding for priorities important to NAMI. Among these are:

* $96 million rent subsidies for permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for Louisiana and Mississippi ($76 million for Louisiana and $20 million for Mississippi) – these are supportive housing units targeted to current and formerly homeless individuals with mental illness in communities still devastated by the 2005 hurricanes,
* $475 million for VA Polytrauma Centers,
* $400 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and
* $275 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to upgrade safety and inspections.

TELL THE SENATE TO PROTECT MEDICAID!

Image via WikipediaTell the Senate to Protect Medicaid!
from: enews@nami.org.
May 21, 2008

Last week the House again acted to pass legislation that would delay a series of federal regulations that would severely limit Medicaid coverage of critical mental illness services including rehabilitation, case management, and school-based services. The delay in the regulations was part of an amendment to the supplemental war funding bill that included this delay on the regulations passed by a vote of 256-166.

NAMI is extremely grateful to advocates that contacted their House members –your voice made a real difference! Now the effort to include the delay in the Medicaid regulations shifts to the Senate, where the war supplemental funding bill will be taken up this week. Adding the moratoria to this "must pass" supplemental funding bill is likely the best legislative opportunity aimed at stopping these regulations and protecting Medicaid funding for critical community-based services for both children and adults living with serious mental illness. Because the President has threatened to veto the moratoria on the Medicaid regulations, it is critical that the Senate reject any effort to strip the provision from the amendment to the war supplemental funding bill (HR 2642).


ACT NOW!

We need your help again! Send a message to your Senators urging them to make sure the Medicaid moratoria stay in the war supplemental funding bill. In addition to protecting Medicaid, tell your Senators to support provisions in the bill that address critical priorities at home including:

* $96 million rent subsidies for permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for Louisiana and Mississippi ($76 million for Louisiana and $20 million for Mississippi) – these are supportive housing units targeted to current and formerly homeless individuals with mental illness in communities still devastated by the 2005 hurricanes,
* $475 million for VA Polytrauma Centers,
* $400 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and
* $275 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to upgrade safety and inspections.
For More info
Background on the Medicaid Moratoria Legislation

TAKE ACTION

Image via WikipediaHouse Panel Approves Moratoria on Medicaid Regulations!

April 11, 2008

Efforts in Congress to halt regulations that would undermine Medicaid financing of critical mental health services are moving forward. On April 9, an important House Subcommittee approved legislation (HR 5613) to impose moratoria on 7 separate Medicaid regulations. These regulations would severely hamper the ability of states to invest in services critical to the needs of people with serious mental illness. The bill would prevent these regulations from going into effect until April 1, 2009, when a new Administration will be in office.

A broader Senate companion bill to HR 5613 has been introduced by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). Their bill (S 2819) combines moratoria on all 7 regulations with $12 billion in fiscal relief for the states to deal with revenue shortfalls related to the current crises in the mortgage and credit markets. This includes a temporary across-the-board increase in each state’s Medicaid match rate.

ACT NOW!

NAMI supports the efforts in both the House and the Senate. Email Congress now and urge support of these bills. Urge your House member to support HR 5613 and efforts to stop regulations that would devastate funding for critical services for Medicaid beneficiaries with serious mental illness. Tell your Senators to support S 2819, which is an important step in preventing cuts to Medicaid at the state level.