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Letter of the Week - Improving Mental Health
07/23/07Every week, 2,000 - 3,000 Second District residents write to me about the issues pending before Congress, and I work hard to respond to each person as promptly and thoughtfully as possible. On this "Letter of the Week" blog, I highlight constituent letters that are of general interest. If you'd like to share your own views, please feel free to e-mail me at any time!
"I am deeply committed to ensuring the best possible care for individuals living with mental illness and to promoting their recovery, now and in the future. I would appreciate receiving information about your position and record regarding psychiatric advance directives. Please support funding for Social Security to add additional resources so that people applying for disability are not forced to wait years for a decision." -- Susan
Dear Susan,
Thank you for contacting me and sharing your views on mental health legislation. I always appreciate hearing from constituents on things I can do to help improve their lives in Kansas.
Mental health is among my top priorities. Congress is an incredibly busy place—every day there are dozens of hearings and scores of briefings available on a wide variety of subjects. In the first five months of this Congress, 2600 bills were introduced in the House of Representatives. I find the only way to sort through all this information is to keep focused on a few basic goals I had when I ran for Congress. One of those goals was improving mental health care for both children and adults.
Mental Health Parity: The most important thing we can do this year to improve our nation’s mental health care is to ensure parity for mental illness. I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. This bill provides a common-sense solution to a problem that shouldn’t exist. Many private insurers provide less coverage for mental illness than other medical conditions. That makes no sense. H.R. 1424, named for the late Minnesota Senator who used to introduce it every year, would require insurers to give the same coverage to mental illnesses that they do to other conditions.
I find the imbalance between physical and mental health care deeply troubling. It suggests that the mind, arguably the most important organ in the human body, is somehow least deserving of good health. It reinforces the old, uninformed view of mental illness: that it results from a weakness of character, rather than from biological disorder. This is why I strongly support national mental health parity legislation. Since 2001, Kansas has had stronger mental health parity laws than the federal one. H.R. 1424 will bring the whole country to full parity.
Obviously, mental health parity should also apply to Medicare patients, which is why I cosponsored H.R. 1663, the Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act. This bill includes several provisions which ensure mental health parity for Medicare beneficiaries. Most importantly, it eliminates the lifetime limit on inpatient mental health services, which reduces the co-payment for outpatient mental health services from 50% down to the 20% level applied to most physical health services.
Targeting Women’s and Children’s Heath: I am also working to improve the mental health of our children and young adults. The surgeon general estimates that 2 out of 3 children with a mental illness do not get treatment. One reason for this is a shortage of children’s mental health professionals. H.R. 2073, the Child Healthcare Relief Act, would create a program to repay school loans for child and adolescent psychiatrists, as well as school psychologists, social workers and counselors. It would also create grants to fund training and job placement in underserved areas.
I believe we must ensure that parents are aware of any mental health risks that might be afflicting their college-aged children. Since the 1970s, college students’ privacy has been protected by a very strong set of laws. Schools are forbidden from releasing grades, enrollment or health-care information to anyone, including parents, without the student’s permission. H.R. 2220, the Mental Health SAFE Act, would allow schools to notify parents in cases when a mental health professional has found that the student poses a significant risk to their own or to others’ well-being. Students struggling with mental illness need a strong support network, and this bill removes the existing communication barriers to help the student get the treatment they need.
Another of my legislative priorities is women’s health. I cosponsored H.R. 20, the “Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act,” which directs HHS to expand and intensify research for post-partum depression. I believe that it is important to help new mothers by further examining this disorder.
Caring for Veterans: I am also deeply concerned about the mental health care and rehabilitation of our veterans. We need to take special care of the veterans who have had the courage to serve our country and have suffered from mental health problems as a result. I believe that we need to provide the funding for veterans mental health as well as the oversight to make sure the money is spent right. I have cosponsored three bills relating the veteran mental health care:
The dangers of mental illness are grave. The U.S. Surgeon General’s 1999 report on mental health found that mental illnesses are the second-leading cause of premature death. I believe that much can be done to improve treatment of patients suffering from mental illness. Thank you again for getting in touch with me. Please do not hesitate to do so again when I can be of service.
Sincerely,
Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress
"I am deeply committed to ensuring the best possible care for individuals living with mental illness and to promoting their recovery, now and in the future. I would appreciate receiving information about your position and record regarding psychiatric advance directives. Please support funding for Social Security to add additional resources so that people applying for disability are not forced to wait years for a decision." -- Susan
Dear Susan,
Thank you for contacting me and sharing your views on mental health legislation. I always appreciate hearing from constituents on things I can do to help improve their lives in Kansas.
Mental health is among my top priorities. Congress is an incredibly busy place—every day there are dozens of hearings and scores of briefings available on a wide variety of subjects. In the first five months of this Congress, 2600 bills were introduced in the House of Representatives. I find the only way to sort through all this information is to keep focused on a few basic goals I had when I ran for Congress. One of those goals was improving mental health care for both children and adults.
Mental Health Parity: The most important thing we can do this year to improve our nation’s mental health care is to ensure parity for mental illness. I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. This bill provides a common-sense solution to a problem that shouldn’t exist. Many private insurers provide less coverage for mental illness than other medical conditions. That makes no sense. H.R. 1424, named for the late Minnesota Senator who used to introduce it every year, would require insurers to give the same coverage to mental illnesses that they do to other conditions.
I find the imbalance between physical and mental health care deeply troubling. It suggests that the mind, arguably the most important organ in the human body, is somehow least deserving of good health. It reinforces the old, uninformed view of mental illness: that it results from a weakness of character, rather than from biological disorder. This is why I strongly support national mental health parity legislation. Since 2001, Kansas has had stronger mental health parity laws than the federal one. H.R. 1424 will bring the whole country to full parity.
Obviously, mental health parity should also apply to Medicare patients, which is why I cosponsored H.R. 1663, the Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act. This bill includes several provisions which ensure mental health parity for Medicare beneficiaries. Most importantly, it eliminates the lifetime limit on inpatient mental health services, which reduces the co-payment for outpatient mental health services from 50% down to the 20% level applied to most physical health services.
Targeting Women’s and Children’s Heath: I am also working to improve the mental health of our children and young adults. The surgeon general estimates that 2 out of 3 children with a mental illness do not get treatment. One reason for this is a shortage of children’s mental health professionals. H.R. 2073, the Child Healthcare Relief Act, would create a program to repay school loans for child and adolescent psychiatrists, as well as school psychologists, social workers and counselors. It would also create grants to fund training and job placement in underserved areas.
I believe we must ensure that parents are aware of any mental health risks that might be afflicting their college-aged children. Since the 1970s, college students’ privacy has been protected by a very strong set of laws. Schools are forbidden from releasing grades, enrollment or health-care information to anyone, including parents, without the student’s permission. H.R. 2220, the Mental Health SAFE Act, would allow schools to notify parents in cases when a mental health professional has found that the student poses a significant risk to their own or to others’ well-being. Students struggling with mental illness need a strong support network, and this bill removes the existing communication barriers to help the student get the treatment they need.
Another of my legislative priorities is women’s health. I cosponsored H.R. 20, the “Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act,” which directs HHS to expand and intensify research for post-partum depression. I believe that it is important to help new mothers by further examining this disorder.
Caring for Veterans: I am also deeply concerned about the mental health care and rehabilitation of our veterans. We need to take special care of the veterans who have had the courage to serve our country and have suffered from mental health problems as a result. I believe that we need to provide the funding for veterans mental health as well as the oversight to make sure the money is spent right. I have cosponsored three bills relating the veteran mental health care:
- Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act
H.R. 327, the “Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act,” directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and carry out a comprehensive program designed to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans.
- Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline Act of 2007
H.R. 2219 directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award a grant to establish and operate a national toll-free suicide prevention telephone hotline targeted to and staffed by veterans.
- Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancement and Long-Term Support Act of 2007
H.R. 2199, “Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancement and Long-Term Support Act of 2007,” provides for the care and rehabilitation for Veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
The dangers of mental illness are grave. The U.S. Surgeon General’s 1999 report on mental health found that mental illnesses are the second-leading cause of premature death. I believe that much can be done to improve treatment of patients suffering from mental illness. Thank you again for getting in touch with me. Please do not hesitate to do so again when I can be of service.
Sincerely,
Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress