309 W. Millbrook Rd. Suite 121, Raleigh, NC 27609*919/788-0801
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Heard in the Halls is an E-mail service of NAMI North Carolina to provide updates on state legislative and policy issues. Heard in the Halls is produced for community advocates at least monthly and more frequently during sessions of the General Assembly. To be added to the Heard in the Halls list send an E-mail to heard@naminc.org with only one word “subscribe” (no quotes) in the subject header.
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The Redesignation of GACPD (the Governor’s Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities )
On July 14, 2003, the appointed members of the Governor’s Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities (GACPD) voted to recommend that Governor Easley redesignate the North Carolina’s Protection and Advocacy program from an agency within state government to a non-profit organization. This recommendation, if accepted by the Governor, initiates a federal redesignation process.
The Governor must include significant information about the organization in his announcement of intent to redesignate. For that reason, a lot of groundwork has to happen before the Governor can make an announcement. Focus groups have been held across the state to get public input. New Bylaws have been written. The highlights of those Bylaws include a seventeen member Board of Directors, not more than five (5) of the members shall be from any one region: Western, Central and Eastern. Volunteer members of the new Board of Directors are currently being identified. The majority of the Board will be people with disabilities and no less than 35% of the Board shall be family members.
The new name of North Carolina’s Protection and Advocacy program is the Disability Rights Center of North Carolina (DRC-NC). The mission of Disability Rights Center of North Carolina, Inc. (DRC - NC) is to advance and enforce the rights of people with disabilities. DRC- NC has a vision that as a result of its activities and services, people with disabilities in North Carolina are assured that their civil rights are enforced and protected.
For more information, and an application for the first volunteer board, go to www.drcnc.org.
Service Delivery by an Area/County Program
As you know, among the changes in service delivery is the effort to find private providers of service. Some area programs are having difficulty finding any qualified providers. The Division has released a new bulletin outlining how the area program can provide service directly, as many do today.
Communication Bulletin #016 deals with "Criteria and
Procedure for Approval of Service Delivery by an Area/County Program". It can
be found, along with the other Communication Bulletins, on the web at:
http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/mhddsas/stateplanimplementation/index.html
Mental Health Parity #1
As the 2004 short session for the N.C. General Assembly nears, various study commissions are beginning to wrap up their work and publish their findings. One of the most important such groups is the House Select Committee on the Rising Cost of Health Care, which published some findings this month.
The Committee on the Rising Cost of Health Care has good news and bad news for those who believe that access to adequate health care ought to be a fundamental right rather than a special privilege available only to the wealthy.
The good news is that the Committee recommends that the legislature appropriate $5 million for health-care improvements for rural populations, enhancing the work of community health centers, departments of public health, and free clinics. If the General Assembly does indeed include this appropriation in its 2004 budget, then North Carolinians who don't happen to live in the state's big cities should see considerable benefits.
The bad news is hardly news since it represents the same old nonsense:
The Committee refused to endorse mental health parity, extending a moratorium on new mandates on the issue until 2006.
Mental health parity laws, which exist in some form in the majority of U.S. states, require health insurers to treat mental illness claims like they do other health claims. It's a simple concept, one that the medical profession endorses, and one that advocates for the mentally ill have been talking about for over a decade.
Opponents of mental health parity say that it's too expensive, especially for small businesses that provide health-care benefits.
But there's little evidence that parity would break any bank. In North Carolina, state employees have enjoyed the benefits of mental health parity since 1991. The 1991 law provoked the same outcry about the unaffordable cost of parity, but mental health costs have actually declined in North Carolina since then.
Research compiled by the National Mental Health Association shows that parity actually can save money, since insurance coverage makes it more likely that the mentally ill will be able to afford treatment. The alternative--denying treatment to the mentally ill because of inability to pay--is unacceptably shortsighted and dangerous for all.
Mental health parity is simple, cost-effective, and just. It should be a big part of the package of health-care reforms in North Carolina in 2004.
Action:
Contact your North Carolina Senator and Representative to protest the
committee action on parity, but to support the extra money for rural health
care.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/House/House.html
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Senate/Senate.html
Mental Health Parity #2
The time for passing parity is now! Despite a record 69
cosponsors in the Senate and 244 in the House of Representatives, Congress has
failed to move on the "Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment
Act" (S. 486/H.R. 953). In fact, almost two years have gone by since President
Bush first called for mental health parity - a time in which more than 300
national organizations joined the coalition to pass parity and end insurance
discrimination against those suffering from mental health disorders.
While Congress often appears to be focused on either Iraq or the economy, the
fact remains that this is a critical election year (similar to the one in which
the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act passed) making legislators even more attentive
to their constituent's concerns. But, we need to turn up the pressure and are
counting on your grassroots support to help the bill's sponsors, Senators Pete
Domenici (R-NM) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), get the Senate moving on parity. The
Senate needs to know that it is not all right for them to drag their feet on
this important issue, as your loved ones
continue to suffer because of their inaction.
Action: *** Urge Our U.S.
Senators to Pass Parity Now! ***
http://edwards.senate.gov/