National Council for Mental Wellbeing

I know that it is sometimes difficult to make sense of all of the news coming out of Washington – particularly this week with the back-and-forth over the 2014 budget, health reform funding, and the likely government shutdown. Here, I will try to provide a straightforward summary of what is going on and what it means. Let’s start with some basics: The federal fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Each year, Congress has the responsibility for approving a budget for the federal government, which is usually done through the passage of 12 appropriation bills.

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The Recidivism Reduction Act (H.R. 3123), introduced by Rep. Andre Carson (D-IL) with 8 cosponsors, would quickly restore federal disability and health benefits to eligible individuals after they are released from incarceration. The National Council supports this legislation.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are an estimated 350,000 mentally ill individuals in State and Federal prisons. On average, inmates with mental illnesses serve about 103 months in state prison until their release, compared to 88 months for other inmates.

Read More on Recidivism Reduction Act Aims to Speed Reinstatement of Medicaid/SSI upon Release from Incarceration 

The National Council has developed a letter in response to the recent Senate Finance Committee request for recommendations on how to improve the behavioral healthcare system.
In August, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) published an open call to the behavioral healthcare community requesting input on how to improve the mental health system in the U.S. The Committee asked for input on three key questions:

Read More on National Council Submits Recommendations in Response to Senate Finance Committee Letter 

Backing down from demands by the chamber’s most conservative members that any continuing budget resolution be tied to defunding the 2010 health reform law, House Republican leaders this week said they would seek instead to link the defunding measure to an upcoming debate over raising the national debt ceiling. The decision came as the Senate […]

Read More on Government Teeters on Verge of Shutdown as House Adjusts Obamacare Defunding Strategy