mental health

A recent report revealed horrifying conditions for the mentally ill at North Carolina’s Central Prison. Prisoners were left isolated for staggeringly long amounts of times, some were left to wallow in their own filth with nothing but a safety blanket and others were neglected or over prescribed medication which may have led to the death of one inmate.

Jenny Lancaster, chief operating officer for the NC DOC, excused these conditions by citing how the prison system is severely understaffed and under-equipped. Luckily, the prison will receive a new mental health facility to address these issues, but some doubt this will actually fix the problem. These conditions are simply inexcusable.

Nobody is being held accountable. No prison staff has been fired and nobody is up for disciplinary review. This injustice is beyond outrageous.

 
@ncgovoffice yfrog.com/h265tjij
 

One of the big shortcomings of living in Maryland for a year is that I don't get to hear what's on WUNC-FM. So I was really glad to get an email this week about an in-depth series by Rose Hoban on the sad state of mental health services in North Carolina. These reports should be required listening for every state policy maker. Please follow me below the fold for a quick look at the five part series.

I have written a couple of articles this week that I think deserve your attention. You can read the articles at www.examiner.com/Raleigh/politics.

If you care not a twit about folks with disabilities (which is the case with most legislators), at least consider that another lawsuit settlement like the ones with Thomas S and Willie M could be a "budget buster."

The Institute of Medicine released its report on the adult care situation in late January. The report includes a list of recommendations for the legislators to consider this session. The report was done at taxpayers' expense.

I feel a chill running down my spine as I open yet another envelope. I know that folded within is another medical bill I won’t be able to pay. The healthcare reform bill that was signed into law this week and praised by Cal Cunningham has the potential to change my life. My story isn’t really all that different from the stories of millions of other Americans who have played battle royale with health insurance companies. But I feel like my story needs telling, if only to provide a comforting nod of solidarity to others in similar circumstances.

Currently licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) are not eligible for Medicare reimbursement. I believe that the House health care bill has a provision that would rectify this, but the Baucus Senate bill doesn't.

The request is simple enough: call Kay Hagan (202-224-6342) and Richard Burr (202-224-3154) and ask them to support S.671, The Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2009. Thanks in advance.

It has come to my attention that Medicare does not reimburse for counseling by Ph.D. licensed professional counselors (LPC), while c licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) are so reimbursed. MDs, who do very little psychological counseling and often may have no extensive training in the area, are the only other mental health professionals reimbursed.

In the process of developing a very good reimbursement system under the new health care system, let's make sure that our representatives understand the need to cover these licensed professionals across the country and to extend the Medicare coverage to their services as well.

It has occurred to me that perhaps seniors are considered so near the end of life by the Republicans that they shouldn't have the most professional and precious mental health resources wasted on them.

This letter came from Shelley Pereda Camp. She gave permission to republish it here:

I am the mother of a 12 year old autistic child in Asheville. She was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at the age of 1-1/2 and then diagnosed with autism with MMR tendancies at the age of 4 1/2. At 4-1/2, my almost catatonic, she only spoke 25 words, was still in diapers and was a danger to herself and those around her. You would never know this about her if you met her today but this would not have been possible without community support services, OT, PT, Speech and Medicaid.

{c/p @ Scrutiny Hooligans}

The NC House budget proposes a 40% cut in mental health services including the dissolution of Community Support Services, a vital tool to maintain people in their communities rather than relying on emergency rooms, hospitals, and jails. If you make three calls today, you can help our legislators understand that cutting education and mental health services will have extraordinary costs to future generations. The ARC of North Carolina sent this Action Alert:

Our service system will be set back 40 years. The House’s proposed budget cuts to Health and Human Services and Medicaid will have a total impact of close to $3.5 billion.