|
|
About ICL : : News
|
A Journey to Albany
|
On February 15th, ICL staff members and consumers joined over 1,500 others in Albany for the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services’ (NYAPRS) 13th Annual Mental Health Legislative Day to speak out against potential 2011-2012 budget cuts to mental health programs. Teams of consumers and staff met with dozens of state legislators urging them to preserve and protect current funding levels for the community mental health safety net. Individual consumers shared how budget cuts would affect personal recovery.
ICL specifically urged state legislators to:
- Support regional-managed behavioral health care coordination initiative;
People with mental health, substance use and medical conditions require more active, engaging and better coordinated care that both promotes their health and recovery and reduce costly and avoidable ER and hospital stays. While many of those visits are to treat medical conditions, a majority of these individuals are not well engaged by health plans and medical practitioners, preferring to ‘come into care’ offered by behavioral health services.
In a February 7th unpublished Letter to the Editor at Crain’s Health Pulse, Dr. Peter C. Campanelli, ICL CEO and President, advocates carving out mental health benefits from Medicaid medical health plans. “The more effective “carved out” approach would offer a single point of accountability through a behavioral managed care company with expertise at overseeing the care for this complex population. This plan would ensure benefits while reducing costs and improving quality. A second critical difference is that the “carve out” would preserve the vital regulatory authority of the NYS Office of Mental Health and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. By doing so, it establishes a clear trail of mental health resource utilization and preservation with a cap on overhead and profit.”
- Reinvest a portion of the savings from OMH state hospital closures and privatizing state-operated OMH community residences to boost recovery and integrated care initiatives
NYAPRS Executive Director Harvey Rosenthal with ICL consumer Gary Mace after meeting Senator Roy J. McDonald, new chairman of the Senate Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee
Sahar Khoshakhlagh, Program Director of ICL St. Marks Residence, with staff and
consumers in the Egg auditorium listening to NYAPRS speakers.
The group was there to meet with their assemblymember and state senator.
posted
Feb25
« Back to main page
|
|
|
|
|