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July 3, 2012

NAMI CAN!

The Health Law in California

The long awaited Supreme Court decision about the health law that Congress passed over two years ago was announced on June 27th. The court determined all of the congressional requirements in the bill were constitutional except the one that demanded that states must expand Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California).

 

California has embraced this act from the outset. It was the first state in the nation to develop a Health Care Exchange as required in the bill. It applied for, and was granted, a Medicaid waiver that would allow it to begin enrolling previously ineligible individuals now in the Medicaid-like Low Income Health Program. It applied for and was accepted into the Dual Eligibles Demonstration Project that will begin providing coordinated care in eight counties for people receiving both Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits sometime between March 1 and June 30, 2013. Enabling legislation has been passed.

 

Stakeholders of all stripes - meaning people who care or have an interest in the outcome, from consumers of healthcare services and their families to large health plans - have met, given input, come to agreement or at least acceptance about a myriad of implementation details.

 

Some states say they will not expand Medicaid since the court has ruled that they do not have to for cost reasons. California has elected to pursue the Medicaid expansion, at least partly because of our budget problems. The cost of covering newly eligible individuals will be covered entirely by the federal government at first and then slowly move down to 90% as compared to the 50% federal participation for current enrollees. In addition, the counties are now able to direct funds that have previously gone to funding indigent care to other programs because LIHP is providing services for those individuals.

 

Some of the bill's programs have already begun, such as continued health insurance coverage on their parents' plans for youth up to age 26, coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, beginning to fill in the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole," small business tax credits, and the Low Income Health Plan (LIHP).

 

Other programs and benefits are still being developed. Our vigilant oversight and our active input is needed to be sure that mental health is appropriately included when all components of the act are rolled out on January 1, 2014 - just a year and a half from now. We are particularly watching the Essential Health Benefits.

 

Tune in next week for more information about Essential Health Benefits and what you can do!

 

BTW: Don't forget to click the CalDuals button on the right-hand side of this page for the latest information about that demonstration project that will be active in less than a year.


Bettie Reinhardt

Acting Executive Director/NAMI CAN! Coordinator

[email protected] 

NAMI National Conference
Welcome back from the conference! Last week we were thrilled to see so many of you at the NAMI National Conference in Seattle. This year's conference theme was: Wellness, Resiliency and Recovery. Your NAMI California team was there and representing the values of our state and bragging about all the great work that is being done by all of you every day!

national seattleSeattle rolled out the red carpet to welcome NAMI into its gates. We were treated to a greeting in the program from Seattle's Mayor as well as street signs letting everyone know that NAMI was here and proud

 

Our California Caucus was extremely well attended and it was great to hear all of your questions and have a chance to just catch up with some familiar faces. It also didn't hurt to have some delicious See's candy to munch on

 

Our own Mark Gale was a presenter! Mark gave a fascinating workshop on NAMI California's intense work with the corrections system and helping families connect with their loved ones who may be incarcerated. Many states were present with tons of great questions about how they can get similar programs started in their states.

staff at national

NAMI California was also honored with the Outstanding State of the Year award! We brought our own California spirit to the award acceptance, by treating the audience to an impromptu dance number. We got a lot of positive feedback that California knows how to have fun!

  

In addition to our honors, we are happy to report that Keris J�n Myrick, our former State Board Member and keynote speaker at the NAMI California State conference (shameless plug: if you haven't registered yet, you can do so here) was elected to the role of President of the Board of Directors for NAMI National. Congratulations Keris

 

Also this year, Ralph Nelson, our former NAMI California Board President, was re-elected to the NAMI National Board of Directors for a new term, retaining his position as Treasurer. Ralph has been a great resource for NAMI California and NAMI National for many years and we look forward to that great tradition continuing for years to come!

  

We are so excited to see what Keris and Ralph will be able to accomplish in their terms and we look forward to sharing that work with you every week on our update!

  

Thank you to NAMI National for putting on such a great event and inviting us to be a part of it.

Mental Health Care Gets My Vote! 

Voter Registration Drive - Why, What and How

If you want to learn how NAMI's Mental Health Care Gets My Vote! campaign is promoting voter registration - and what you can do to make a difference - this webinar is for you.  Lynn Williams from the League of Women Voters will discuss why voter registration is so vital, new state laws regulating voter registration and how to make the greatest impact while staying within current guidelines for your state.  Angela Webster of the Tennessee Disability Law and Advocacy Center will help you understand voter rights, will dispel myths about disability and voting and will discuss the power of voting as part of  mental health recovery. And the NAMI Policy Team will give tips for using Mental Health Care Gets My Vote! exhibits to promote voter registration.

Date: Fri., July 13, 2012
Time: 1-2 p.m. eastern (12 p.m. CT/ 11 a.m. MT/10 a.m. PT)

 

Register Here!

 

Phone: 1-888-858-6021

Access code: 1492189292#

The Countdown Is On: Help People Switch Now to Electronic Federal Benefit Payments

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service

Everyone who receives Social Security, SSI/SSDI or other federal benefit payments by paper check is required by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to switch to an electronic payment option by March 1, 2013. This move will save taxpayers $1 billion over the next 10 years, while ensuring all federal benefit recipients receive their money in the safest, most reliable way possible.

There is less than one year left to ensure that people know about this new requirement so they can make the switch to one of the two Treasury-recommended electronic payment options: direct deposit to a checking or savings account or the Direct Express� Debit MasterCard� card.

It's fast, easy and free for people to make the switch online at www.GoDirect.org or by calling the U.S. Treasury Electronic Solution Center at (800) 333-1795. For direct deposit, people can also sign up at their bank or credit union.

Help the people you know take action and switch to electronic payments before time runs out. The Treasury Department's Go Direct campaign offers free materials and ideas to help you share this important message. Get involved today.

For more information or to download or order free materials, visit www.GoDirect.org.

California Stakeholder Process Coalition Meeting Invitation - July 11,2012, 10:00-2:00 - New Meeting Location: UCD Health System

The California Stakeholder Process Coalition invites you to participate in a Statewide meeting on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, from 10am-2pm, in Sacramento.

The meeting pertains to the subject also addressed in many of our Regional Meetings across the state - standards and strategies for achieving meaningful and successful engagement of consumers and family members in our county mental health systems and local processes.

 

Where:  UCD Health System  FSSB Building

 4800 2nd Ave, Suite 2030 
Sacramento, CA 95817 

Map

 

Please RSVP to meeting organizers by July 6 at:

[email protected]

Last Call for MHSOAC Art and Writing Submissions!

This is the last week to submit your Art and/or Writing for the chance to have your work featured in the special edition MHSOAC Expressions newsletter!   The deadline to submit your art or writing is July 6th.

The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) is currently accepting artwork and writing produced by consumers in recovery, family members, and the mental health stakeholders community at large to be featured in our special edition newsletter, MHSOAC Expressions, as well as future issues of the MHSOAC newsletter, MHSOAC Update, and public view on the MHSOAC Website at www.mhsoac.ca.gov.

 

Please submit your artwork, short stories, and poems to the MHSOAC to be considered for inclusion. We encourage all themes and topics, but especially those with themes of: wellness, recovery, and personal experiences or triumphs as related to mental health.

 

Submission Guidelines

 

1.    Please submit your art and/or writing in electronic form.

2.    Art images must be digitally photographed and saved in the format of a JPEG.

* You can also save materials onto a CD and send us the CD via postal mail.

  • Please make sure that the digital image is as high quality as possible, and that there are no other objects in the photograph (such as hands, or anything that obscures the artwork). If the artwork is in a frame, please remove it before photographing.

3.    Writing in the form of stories and poetry are highly encouraged. If writing is not in English, please also provide a translated copy.

4.    For each submission, please include your name as you would like it to appear, the title of each artwork/writing submission, and your county of residence.

5.    The selection of the art and writing featured will be up to the discretion of the MHSOAC Communications Unit.

6.    Author or artist will be notified if your piece is selected for use. There is no monetary compensation for artwork or writing that is selected; this is solely an opportunity to share creative expressions with the community.

7.    Unless requested, materials submitted will not be returned.

8.    Please also send or fax in a copy of the submission form with your signature. For legal reasons, artwork or writing without a completed submission form will not be considered for publication.

 

All submissions are to be submitted electronically in the format of a word document, PDF or JPEG via email to [email protected] or via postal mail to the MHSOAC no later than Friday, July 6, 2012.

 

*For Submission and Consent forms please see the forms at http://www.mhsoac.ca.gov/Announcements/docs/Invitation_Art_Writing_2012.pdf.  

If You Paid for Paxil�, You Could Get a Payment from a Class Action Settlement

A class action settlement will provide money  to California residents who were 18 years old or
older and who paid for any portion of the price of  the prescription antidepressant Paxil� while living
in California from January 14, 1999 through January 1, 2003, and who qualify under the settlement
(these people are called "Class Members"). If you're  included, you may ask for a payment, or you can
exclude yourself from, or object to, the settlement.

The Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles will have a hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement so that payments can be issued. The lawsuit claims that GlaxoSmithKline falsely advertised and promoted Paxil� as being non-habit forming or non-addictive and that GlaxoSmithKline's advertisements and promotional materials failed to disclose the risk of symptoms from stopping or discontinuing Paxil�. GlaxoSmithKline denies each of these allegations.

Click here for details.

Save the Date!   

2012 NAMI CA Annual Statewide Conference

When: Friday, August 17th & Saturday, August 18th

Where: Marriot Hotel, Irvine, CA

More information to come!

 

Hope to see you there!

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Contact Information

Weekly Report

NAMI California
1851 Heritage Lane, Ste 150
Sacramento, CA 95815 

Phone: 916-567-0163 Fax: 916-567-1757
 

www.namicalifornia.org


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