Support Federal Budget allocations for the Family Opportunity Act Senate

NAMI E-News February 25, 2002 Vol. 02-54

May 6, 2004: Family Opportunity Act passes

The Senate just passed with a committee substitute S. 622, the Family Opportunity Act, a Grassley-Kennedy-Baucus bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide families of disabled children with the opportunity to purchase coverage under the Medicaid program for such children.

More information on Family Opportunity Act >>

Action Needed To Include Funds in House and

Senate Budget Resolutions to Support the Family Opportunity Act

In the upcoming weeks, both the House and Senate Budget committees will be putting together their FY 2003 budgets. Last year, advocates for the Family Opportunity Act (FOA), including NAMI and the sponsors of this important legislation, worked hard to get a reserve fund in the FY 2002 budget to fully fund FOA (S 321 & HR 600). With Congress adjourning last year without passing the Family Opportunity Act, advocates must again push to have a reserve fund included in the budget resolutions that pass both the House and the Senate.

The FOA, sponsored by Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Representatives Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), has tremendous bipartisan support with 75 Senate cosponsors and 213 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. This landmark legislation is intended to end the financial devastation that families too often encounter in attempting to access quality treatment for their children with mental illnesses. As many NAMI members know firsthand, families are often tragically forced to give up custody of their children to obtain the most appropriate treatment and services for them. This legislation offers stability and recovery to children with severe and chronic disabling disorders, including early-onset mental illnesses and is a measure that will help put an end to this horrible choice that loving and caring families must make in cases where there has been no abuse or neglect.

Under the bill, states would be able to offer Medicaid coverage to children with severe disabilities living in middle income families through a buy-in program. Cost-sharing on a sliding scale up to the full premium cost will be required within certain guidelines that protect lower income families. Currently, families must stay impoverished, place their child in an out of home placement or simply give up custody in order to secure the health care services their child needs under Medicaid. For more information on other provisions included in the bill please visit: http://www.nami.org/update/20010407.html

Action Requested

All NAMI members and advocates whose members of Congress are either on the House or Senate Budget committees (see lists below) are urged to contact their Senator or Representative and ask that they support including a reserve fund for the Family Opportunity Act in the FY 03 budget. If your Representatives are cosponsors of FOA, please thank them and remind them of the importance of this legislation to families and children with severe mental illness.

All members of Congress can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or by going to the policy page of the NAMI web site at www.nami.org/policy.htm and click on "Write to Congress."

House Budget Committee

Jim Nussle, Iowa John Spratt, South Carolina
John Sununu, NewHampshire Jim McDermott, Washington
Pete Hoekstra, Michigan Bennie Thompson, Mississippi
Charles Bass, New Hampshire Ken Bentsen, Texas
Gil Gutknecht, Minnesota Jim Davis, Florida
Van Hilleary, Tennessee Eva Clayton, North Carolina
Mac Thornberry, Texas David Price, North Carolina
Jim Ryun, Kansas Jerry Kleczka, Wisconsin
Mac Collins, Georgia Bob Clement, Tennessee
Ernie Fletcher, Kentucky James Moran, Virginia
Gary Miller, California Darlene Hooley, Oregon
Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Carolyn McCarthy, New York
Doc Hastings, Washington Dennis Moore, Kansas
John Doolittle, California Mike Capuano, Massachusetts
Rob Portman, Ohio Mike Honda, California
Ray LaHood, Illinois Joe Hoeffel, Pennsylvania
Kay Granger, Texas Rush Holt, New Jersey
Ed Schrock, Virginia Jim Matheson, Utah
John Culberson, Texas Henry Brown, South Carolina
Ander Crenshaw, Florida Adam Putnam, Florida
Mark Kirk, Illinois

Senate Budget Committee

Kent Conrad, North Dakota Pete Domenici, New Mexico
Ernest Hollings, South Carolina Charles Grassley, Iowa
Paul Sarbanes, Maryland Don Nickles, Oklahoma
Patty Murray, Washington Phil Gramm, Texas
Ron Wyden, Oregon Christopher Bond, Missouri
Russell Feingold, Wisconsin Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
Tim Johnson, South Dakota Olympia Snowe, Maine
Robert Byrd, West Virginia Bill Frist, Tennessee
Bill Nelson, Florida Gordon Smith, Oregon
Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Wayne Allard, Colorado
Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Chuck Hagel, Nebraska
Jon Corzine, New Jersey

Cosponsors of S 321

To find out if your Senators are cosponsors of the Family Opportunity Act, please visit:

Senate cosponsors of the Family Opportunity Act

To find out if your Representative is a cosponsor of the Family Opportunity Act, please visit:

House cosponsors of the Family Opportunity Act

The NAMI E-News is an electronic newsletter delivering the latest in federal action alerts, legislative and policy updates, and NAMI press releases. Provided free of charge as a public service, the NAMI E-News is read by more than 16,500 NAMI members, policymakers, federal and state legislators, media, providers, health care policy experts, and others interested in improving the lives of individuals with severe mental illnesses and their families.

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