NAMI E-News July 25, 2002 Vol. 02-88
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Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing
On July 24, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing on the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ability to deliver quality mental health
care to our nation's veterans with mental illness. Testifying on behalf of NAMI
was Moe Armstrong, MBA, MA and Fred Frese, PhD - both spoke of the VA's need to
improve services and expand evidence-based programs to effectively meet the
capacity requirements for veterans with mental illness mandated by Congress. At
the hearing, Chairman Rockefeller (D-WV) stated that while mental health parity
continues to be debated in Congress there does "on the surface" appear to be
parity for mental health in the VA. However, the Chairman remarked that while
veterans may not be subject to arbitrary limits on the number of mental health
visits-the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee is worried that the VA may not be
doing all it can to help those veterans suffering from severe mental illness.
Members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee who attended the hearing were
very interested to hear how the VA is maintaining capacity to treat veterans
with mental illness. Senators also questioned the VA on the extent to which
resources from closing inpatient facilities have been reinvested in quality
community based services and supports and the implementation of the VA's
guidelines on prescribing antipsychotic medications.
Also testifying at the hearing was Dr. Robert Roswell, the VA Under Secretary of
Health and Dr. Miklos Losonczy, the co-chair of the VA's Committee on Care of
Veterans with Serious Mental Illness. [The Committee on Care of Veterans with
Serious Mental Illness was established by Congress to assess the VA's capability
to effectively meet the treatment and rehabilitation needs of veterans with
severe mental illness.]
NAMI's testimony before the Committee focused on an acceptable continuum of care
for veterans with severe mental illness and what that should include. Stressed
at the hearing was the availability and accessibility of physician services,
state of the art medications, family education and involvement, inpatient and
outpatient care, residential treatment, supported housing, assertive community
treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation, peer support, vocational and employment
services, and integrated treatment for co-occurring mental illness and substance
abuse. Further, NAMI member Dr. Fred Frese stated that all services should be
available without waiting lists or other barriers to accessing needed treatment
and services and that to be a comprehensive system of care-the VA must have the
capacity to provide such services.
In NAMI's opinion, the lack of access to treatment and community supports for
veterans with severe mental illness is the greatest unmet need of the VA. It is
estimated that 454, 598 veterans have a service connected disability due to a
mental illness. Of great concern to NAMI are the 130,211 veterans who are
service connected for psychosis, 104,593 of whom were treated in the VA in FY
1999 for schizophrenia.
NAMI believes that while treatment is central to recovery, it is not an end in
itself. Housing, psychosocial rehabilitation and supports provided by the VA
play a critical role in this process. NAMI board member Moe Armstrong told the
Committee that psychosocial rehabilitation and peer support have been key to his
recovery and that the VA must do a better job in providing peer education, as
well as expanding the use of evidence based models in psychosocial
rehabilitation, supported employment and family involvement. NAMI will continue
to advocate that the VA improve and expand the provision of specialized services
for veterans with severe mental illness. Our nation's veterans deserve the best
treatment, including access to the highest quality care, supports and services.
The complete written testimony submitted by Moe Armstrong and Fred Frese on
behalf of NAMI can be found at:
http://www.nami.org/pressroom/testimony/frese20020724.pdf and
http://www.nami.org/pressroom/testimony/armstrong20020724.pdf
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Thank you.
