Praise for New Freedom Commission on Mental
Health
Field Praises Commission Report; Urges Focus On Parity, Funding
Mental Health Weekly November 11, 2002
In general, the response of field leaders to the interim report of the
President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health has been positive, with
leaders calling it a strong first step and eagerly awaiting the final report,
which will contain specific recommendations for reforming the nation’s mental
health system.
The response to the report, which was released earlier this month, was not
completely without words of concern, however. Some leaders expressed the wish
that the commission look at the field’s funding needs, including the need for
comprehensive mental health parity, while others want the commission to take a
closer look at the private-sector component of the nation’s mental health
system.
Typical of the field reaction was the response of the National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill (NAMI), which in a statement by the organization’s president,
Jim McNulty, called the report an important first step, defining critical
problems in the nation’s mental health system and confirming that the system
is in worse shape than many people had thought.
Chris Koyanagi, policy director of the David L. Bazelon Center for Mental
Health Law, told MHW that the report did a good job of organizing and
highlighting the most important issues. Koyanagi was particularly pleased by
the report’s emphasis on a recovery-oriented system. She hopes that the
commission’s efforts will evolve into an emphasis on consumers’ rights,
looking beyond the basic treatment system and medication control toward
helping people build their lives.
A recovery-oriented approach was particularly emphasized in the report’s focus
on bringing people with mental illness who are capable back into the workforce
and reforming the dependency-oriented system of disability payments. Koyanagi
said that would be a large task since it would affect all people with
disabilities, not just those with mental illness. She agreed, however, that
the public disability system ought to more closely resemble the private-sector
system, where it is more often used as a temporary support.
Looking at the private sector in mental health is something some field leaders
want the commission to focus more on. Mark Covall, executive director of the
National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS), told MHW that he
would like to see an examination of how private-sector providers deliver and
finance behavioral health services for adults with serious mental illness and
children with serious emotional disturbances.
Covall said that with the downsizing of state psychiatric hospitals, more
patients are cutting across both the public and private mental health systems.
“More patients that have traditionally been in the public sector are moving
into [private] hospitals, community programs and outpatient clinics,” said
Covall. “It’s something we need to look at if we’re going to meet the needs of
this critical population as we move forward.”
Covall said that while the public and private sectors once operated
independently, that is no longer the case. He added that there are model
programs of public and private collaboration.
Overall, Covall said the commission’s interim report takes an important first
step, and he commended the commission for doing an excellent job of examining
the public mental health system.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has expressed concern about the
budget-neutral approach taken by the commission in its interim report and is
urging the commission to examine equal access to insurance coverage for mental
health treatment. The APA also urged the commission to examine Medicare
polices that discriminate against treatment for mental disorders by limiting
care and forcing consumers to pay more, as well as to look at funding problems
surrounding Medicaid.
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) said that the commission “got it
right” by saying that the mental health system is in crisis, but also urged
the commission to look at parity, budgeting for the federal Center for Mental
Health Services (CMHS), and individuals with serious mental health needs who
do not meet the criteria for an adult with “serious mental illness.”
This 'Mental Health E-News' posting is a service of the New
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people who use and/or provide community mental health services dedicated to
improving services and social conditions for people with psychiatric
disabilities by promoting their recovery, rehabilitation and rights.
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