Policy Issues & Resources: Healthcare Reform

Community behavioral health organizations provide care to many individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders who are uninsured, many of whom are well below the poverty level. Approximately 22% of adults with mental illness and/or substance use disorders are uninsured. In addition, about 30% of individuals with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders lack any insurance. In addition, one in three uninsured adults with mental illness and/or substance use disorders is under 100% of the federal poverty line.

Given data suggesting that individuals with mental illness die 25 years younger than the general population, the National Council supports healthcare reform initiatives that are inclusive of individuals with mental illness and addictions.

Recent News  I Official Letters  I  Fact Sheets  I  Summaries & Charts  I  Issue Briefs  I State Activities  I  Healthcare Reform Webinars | Additional Resources

Recent News

• President Obama Releases Details of Healthcare Reform Proposal
• Obama Administration to Draft New Healthcare Reform Proposal in Advance of Bipartisan Summit
• President Obama to Hold Bipartisan Summit on Healthcare Reform; Deadline for Sign on Letter to the President has been Extended: TAKE ACTION! 
   

Official Letters

• Sign on Letter to the President in Support of Healthcare Reform
• Letter to Speaker Pelosi in support of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Choices for America Act
• Template Thank You Letter to House Rules Committee Members Regarding FQBHC Provisions
• Sign on letter to Congressional Leadership in support of including therapeutic foster care in health care reform
• Letter to Senator John Kerry in Support of Allowing States to Negotiate with Health Insurance Plans in the Exchange
• Partnership for Medicaid Letter in Support of Expanding Medicaid Eligibility to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level
• Letter to Senator Stabenow, Thanking her for her Leadership on the Senate Finance Committee
• National Council Sends Letter in Support of Healthcare Reform to President Obama
• Thank you letter to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) for his work on healthcare reform and his inclusion of provisions for persons with disabilities.
• Letter of Support to Senators Baucus and Conrad for their introduction of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Act of 2009 (S 1213).
• Thank You Letter to Senator Reed for introducing and championing an amendment to include co-location grants in the Affordable Health Choices Act.
•  Letter of Support to Senator Reed on his Amendment to include co-location in the Affordable Health Choices Act.
• Letter of Support urging Congress to increase the alcohol excise tax to help pay for healthcare reform.
   

Fact Sheets

• Healthcare Reform Talking Points
• Healthcare Reform and Behavioral Health: Responding to New Demands and Emerging Health Crises
   

Summaries & Charts

• Updated 12/30/09: Side-by-Side Comparison of House and Senate Healthcare Reform Bills
• Key Amendments in HR 3200
• Initial Summary of Senate Finance Committee Chair Baucus' Framework for Comprehensive Health Reform
   

Issue Briefs

• Healthcare Payment Reform and the Behavioral Health Safety Net: What's on the Horizon for the Community Behavioral Health System?
• High Risk Insurance Pools
• The Uninsured — The Impact of Covering Mental Illness and Addiction Disorders
   

State Activities

• Number of Uninsured North Carolina Residents Increased by 22.5% in Past Two Years
• Health Affairs Article Examines California's Health Care Reform Efforts
• Survey Finds 10.7% of Utah Residents Uninsured
• Pennsylvania Governor Redirects Funds to Health Care & Other Programs to Assist Residents
  
• Massachusetts Healthcare Reform
   

Healthcare Reform Webinars

• March 3 Presentation and Recording
• February 16 Presentation and Recording
• February 1 Presentation and Recording
• January 13 Presentation and Recording
• December 29 Presentation and Recording
• December 16 Presentation and Recording
• December 2 Presentation and Recording
• November 19 Presentation and Recording
• November 4 Presentation and Recording
• October 21 Presentation and Recording
• October 7 Presentation
• September 23 Presentation
• September 9 Presentation and Recording
• August 19 Presentation and Recording
• August 5 Presentation and Recording 
• July 22 Presentation and Recording 
• July 8 Presentation and Recording
• June 26 Presentation and Recording
   

Additional Resources

• Members of House Rules Committee and Contact Information
• Introduced MH/SUD Amendments to Senate Finance Committee Chairman's Mark
• Extended Explanation of the Obama Plan
• One-Pager on the Obama Plan
• Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus' Framework for Comprehensive Health Reform
• KFF Tutorial on the Congressional Process of Health Care Reform Legislation
• Robert Wood Johnson Health Care Reform Website
• Healthcare Reform Myths and Facts
  • Mike Strautmanis, a parent of a child with a disability, has a video
    responding to some of the misinformation about the President's health insurance reform plan. 
  • Nancy Ann DeParle has a video addressing some of the misinformation about healthcare reform.
• Transcript from President Obama's healthcare reform town hall meeting in New Hampshire on August 11, 2009.
• Reed Amendment to Affordable Health Choices Act
• Editorial Template for July 4 Recess on Healthcare Reform and Cover Letter Template to send editoiral to Members of Congress
• Georgetown Center for Children and Families' summary of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's "Affordable Health Choices Act."
• National Council comments to the Senate Finance Committee 
• Full Report: Behavioral Health / Primary Care Integration and the
  Person-Centered Healthcare Home
• RWJF Study Finds 1 in 5 U.S. Workers Uninsured, Compared to 1 in 7 in mid-1990s
• Report from the National Council and NAMI: "Coverage for All: Inclusion of Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders in State Healthcare Reform Initiatives