Healthcare Reform – What about Mariyam Dawood?
There have been events which threw our nation but they have been around news that is bad and put a pause – 9/11 and the Wall Street bailout. The election was not new nor a diversion like a star meltdown, did it matter. And because of this election year that is unbelievable, the kids of America have a chance that there is anything unusual about a girl or an African American running for the White House. It’s over the excitement and in some instances snoring oration, the primaries and the disagreements – . It was my good fortune to have confirmed and to attend the National Convention and by activities which our community has made progress.
This convention’s rhetoric Was matched with a very successful legislative year: the delay of damaging Medicaid rules on rehabilitative services and targeted case management and the coming of the Medicaid Services Restoration Act; the passage of Medicare parity; veterans legislation which extends mental health and addictions services beyond the VA out to communities; enhanced collaboration between criminal justice and mental health; growth of the disability definition in the ADA making it easier for those who have disabilities to acquire protection against disability-based discrimination; and the passing of parity end health insurance discrimination. It’s a time for individuals with disabilities. Our string of policy and legislative successes reflects progress. And mental health advocates and substance use – combined from the Presidential campaign – can share a route forward.
The Economy and Service Capacity
But times are tough in communities throughout the country – and the world, people losing their jobs, their houses and their retirement savings. Many people in the National Council have spent traveling from state to community. And we return from these trips. As states attempt to handle their budgets increased demand for health services, in an economy might be to mariyam dawood services that are publicly financed on a collision course with cuts. Our tattered mental health and addictions safety net is in danger of falling as unemployment rates soar, anxiety over the future develops and demand for services is high.