National Council Magazine - Winter 2009 - 4

Washington Update t Promoting Whole Health for the Mentally Ill Charles Ingoglia, MSW, Vice President, Public Policy National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare of the nation’s community mental “Only 32%afford the resources and staff they healthtoproviders are able to need provide onsite treatment for medical conditions. But it’s ironic to address mental illnesses and let people die from unattended medical conditions! We must provide integrated healthcare where it is easiest for patients to access.” T he National Council has long been dedicated to developing programs and advocating for policies that improve access to effective physical healthcare for people with mental illness. After reviewing the policy recommendations contained in the 2006 NASMHPD morbidity and mortality report, surveying our members on their current activities and barriers, and consulting with our Board of Directors’ Public Policy Committee, the National Council launched a series of policy initiatives to help close the death and disability gap for people with serious mental illness — highlights follow. COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IMPROVEMENT ACT People with behavioral health disorders need access to quality healthcare that is timely, affordable, appropriate, and coordinated with the behavioral health treatments and services they receive. Currently, many people served by the mental health and substance use treatment systems are not able to access care in primary care settings due to coverage issues, stigma, and the difﬁculties of ﬁtting into the fast-paced-visit model of primary care. Last week, we achieved a small but signiﬁcant legislative victory when the 111th Congress authorized one of the key provisions in the Community Mental Health Services Act — a new $7 million grant program, housed at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, giving people with serious mental illnesses the promise of a healthcare home. HEALTH DISPARITIES DESIGNATION As a key ﬁrst step, one of the recommendations of the morbidity and mortality report to create a federal designation for people with serious mental illness as a distinct at-risk health disparities population, followed by the development and adaptation of materials and methods for prevention and for inclusion of this population in morbidity and mortality surveillance demographics. The National Council continues to work with federal agencies and with Congress to obtain this designation as it would help to prioritize persons with serious mental illness to receive physical healthcare from community health centers. 4 / NATIONAL COUNCIL MAGAZINE • WINTER 2009 MEDICAID CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION Congress has a history of creating targeted Medicaid demonstration programs to establish the effectiveness of particular interventions. In this spirit, the National Council is seeking a $250 million Medicaid demonstration targeted toward agencies that serve people with serious mental illness to help those agencies better coordinate care and to provide baseline physical healthcare services on site. Watch for further updates in the National Council’s Public Policy Update weekly e-newsletter. Subscribe at www.TheNationalCouncil.org (click on the Subscriptions link at the top of the page). Email federal policy questions and suggestions to ChuckI@thenationalcouncil.org. Charles Ingoglia is Vice President of Public Policy for the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. He directs the federal affairs function of the National Council and oversees policy and advocacy outreach to more than 1,600 member organizations across the nation. He also serves as adjunct faculty at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Prior to joining the National Council, Ingoglia provided policy and program design guidance, including the review of state Medicaid Waiver applications and other health and human services regulations, to the Center for Mental Health Services at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. QUICK FACTS k “Indeed, the causes of physical illness and death among psychiatric patients are much the same as those in other groups — cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes — and are treatable. The problem is that people with serious mental illness tend to be low on the socioeconomic totem pole and often don’t get the best available healthcare.” Kate Torgovnick in “Why Do the Mentally Ill Die Younger?” TIME Magazine, Dec 3, 2008
National Council Magazine - Winter 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of National Council Magazine - Winter 2009
