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Home >> Publications >>Mental Health Update April 16, 2008MHANYS Spring Benefit Please Come Join Us On May 1 for the MHANYS Spring Benefit featuring noted human rights activist and speaker David Kaczynski as well as lots of great food, great company and baskets for auction. It promises to be a wonderful event for a good cause. For information and registration, just log onto www.mhanys.org.
Press
Conference Update on Adding On Tuesday, April 15th, the Timothy’s Law Campaign held a press conference on the issue of including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to the list of biological based diagnoses currently in Timothy’s Law. As part of the final negotiation in Timothy’s Law, we were unable to get PTSD added to the list of biological based diagnoses that would be covered once an individual surpassed their 30/20 benefit. We know that there are many individuals in the mental health community who suffer with PTSD because they have been a victim of rape, abuse or another violent act. In addition, there are many have returning soldiers who are coming back in large numbers from Iraq and Afghanistan with issues related to PTSD as well as families and workers involved in 9/11. There are several other populations also effected by PTSD. The power of the press conference was due to the impressive panel of speakers we had in attendance. We were led by our two legislative champions---Senator Morahan and Assemblyman Rivera who both introduced legislation in their houses calling for the inclusion of PTSD in Timothy’s Law. Our other speakers included Dr Franklin Dowling who talked about the biological basis of PTSD as well as doing a wonderful job of linking issues of PTSD to many of the firefighters and law enforcement officials who he has worked with that suffer from PTSD- related issues of 9/11. John Javis, the Director of the Gathering Place Clubhouse at the Nassau County MHA and a veteran, gave an impassioned talk about the impact PTDS is having to returning veterans who continue to go through several tours of duty. He cited statistics as well as shared a personal story about the suicide of one of his colleagues. Pat Purdie courageously told the story of her own trauma related issue stemming from being sexually abused as a child by a family member. Jane McEwen, the director of the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA), then spoke about the number of people with PTSD who suffer because of past abuse. Our final speaker was Sue Bredice who talked about the trials of getting services for her adopted daughter who suffered from PTSD. Her moving remarks are enclosed. There was a great deal of press there and it was covered in several daily newspapers and radio. It will also appear in next week’s Legislative Gazette. Several of the accounts are listed below. As expected, the opposition was back with their usual financial rhetoric about not being able to afford another mandate and creating dire predictions about the impact of including PTSD in Timothy’s Law. This, of course, was the same forecast that they used a year and half ago when Timothy’s Law was signed. I don’t recall any of their predications coming true then nor will any of these dire forecasts be any truer today if PTSD is covered in Timothy’s Law. The members of the campaign continue to mount an impressive body of work in our commitment to adding PTSD to Timothy’s Law. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the members of the Campaign especially Karin Moran and Jeremy Darman of NASW-NYS who have worked tirelessly on this issue. Articles About the Press Conference, Press Release and the Comments of Sue Bredice Schenectady
Gazette—April 16, 2008 Groups
Push to Include PTSD in Law - Insurers Would Cover Treatment More than 400 organizations support the expansion of Timothy's Law to cover post-traumatic stress disorder, said Glenn Liebman, executive director of the state Mental Health Association and co-chairman of the Timothy's Law Campaign, at a news conference on Tuesday. The medical, social services and other organizations want the state to require health insurers to cover PTSD, as they are now required to cover other mental illnesses under Timothy's Law, which was enacted in 2006. The law is named after Timothy O'Clair, a 12-year-old from Rotterdam who took his own life in 2001. Liebman said PTSD is biologically based like the other illnesses covered under Timothy's Law, and is affecting U.S. military combat veterans as well as victims of terrorism, child abuse and sexual assault. On the biology of PTSD, advocates said the disorder leads to atrophy in and decreased size of the hippocampus area of the brain, which regulates memory, and can cause various types of mental and emotional problems. The advocates are backing legislation, identical bills numbered A-10078 and S-6818, sponsored by the chairmen of the mental health committees in their respective houses, Assemblyman Peter Rivera, D-Bronx, and Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City. Both attended the news conference, and Rivera said later he is confident the bill will pass the Assembly. Morahan was less confident of its prospects in the Senate, noting business groups have opposed the measure, and indicating some kind of compromise may be needed to get it through. The bill is on the Senate calendar but not yet the active calendar, he said, and will likely be discussed in the Republican Conference. Business opposition includes the Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care, which issued a statement saying mandates such as this one contribute to making health insurance unaffordable in New York for employers and consumers. Chris Koetzle, vice president of Support Services Alliance, a small business advocacy group, said in an e-mail: "Affordable health insurance is getting further out of reach for many small businesses and their employees, and this bill would drive up health insurance costs even further. . The new bill is also unclear as to exactly who would be covered and what level of treatment would be required." Another opponent is Mark Amodeo, director of government affairs for the state Business Council. He said the recently passed state budget includes an increased assessment that will drive up the cost of health insurance, and that evaluations of the effects of Timothy's Law, and of the cost of new mandates that may be added onto it, need to be done. Members of the Health Care Quality and Cost Containment Commission, which was created one year ago, have yet to be appointed, he said. That commission is supposed to evaluate new potential mandates. David Smingler, spokesman for Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, said Farley was an early supporter of the original Timothy's Law, but has not yet taken a position on the proposed expansion. The views of legislative leaders could not be determined. Scott Reif, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said "We are reviewing Sen. Morahan's bill." Sisa Moyo, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, said "the [Rivera] bill is currently being reviewed through the committee process." Group
Wants State Law to Cover Stress Disorder ALBANY — Health insurance for mental illness should be broadened to cover all treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, advocates for the change urged Tuesday. Not having the coverage is detrimental to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and other trauma survivors, a coalition of groups known as the Timothy's Law Campaign said. "Who wouldn't want to add PTSD into the Timothy's Law today because, without treatment, we couldn't make it out there. ... I wouldn't know where I would be today if I hadn't gotten treatment. I wouldn't," said Pat Purdie, 45, of Albany, a survivor of sexual abuse who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Timothy's Law, which took effect Jan. 1, 2007, mandates that larger employers provide unlimited treatment for adults with biologically based ailments that include schizophrenia, major depression and panic disorder and several others, and additional coverage for children. It doesn't cover PTSD, which, like panic disorder, falls under the umbrella of anxiety disorders. Every insured person has a minimum of 20 outpatient and 30 inpatient visits a year, and the state picks up the cost of having that for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The base mental health benefit may not cover all the treatment needs for people in the acute phases of the condition, advocates said. Timothy's Law is named for Timothy O'Clair of Schenectady, who took his own life in 2001 at age 12. His family had limited mental health coverage and gave up custody of him so he could receive state-paid treatment. Advocates for the change said PTSD was not included in the 2006 legislation as a result of a compromise and because it was presumed that veterans would access care through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. However, only four out of 10 veterans in New York are registered with the agency and the limited number of V.A. centers poses a problem, advocates said. If passed, the amendment could cover 20,000 to 25,000 New Yorkers and the added cost would be about $500,000 annually, said Shelly Nortz of the Coalition for the Homeless. Senate Mental Health Committee Chairman Thomas Morahan, R-New City, and Assembly Mental Health Committee Chairman Peter Rivera, D-Bronx, have introduced the bill. The Senate is controlled by Republicans, and Democrats control the Assembly. CLMATTHE@Gannett.com
Timothy’s Law Campaign Working
for health insurance parity for 737
Madison Avenue For Immediate Release Contact:
TIMOTHY’S
LAW CAMPAIGN SEEKS AMENDMENT TO April 15, 2008, advocates known as the Timothy’s Law Campaign stood with Senator Thomas Morahan (R-Rockland) and Assembly member Peter Rivera (D-Bronx) today to unveil a legislative initiative aimed at expanding the state’s mental health parity statute to include coverage of treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness caused by personally experiencing a catastrophically traumatic (often life threatening) event. Fundamental symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder include: persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic event (through flashbacks and nightmares), avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event, numbing of general responsiveness, and hyper-arousal, which is frequently manifested by sleep irregularity, exaggerated startle responses, and difficulty concentrating. Left untreated, PTSD is highly associated with serious medical ailments leading to significant physical debilitation and even premature death. Further, suicide risk for PTSD patients is considerably higher than among unaffected populations. The fact that current statute does not include expanded coverage for treatment of PTSD is of great concern to Senator Thomas Morahan and Assembly member Peter Rivera. "Timothy's Law has significantly advanced access to mental health treatment. However, the exclusion of Post Traumatic Distress Disorder (PTSD) negatively impacts returning veterans, children and adults who have suffered sexual abuse and trauma. That is why I have introduced legislation (S6818) to add PTSD to the list of biological based illnesses covered in Timothy's Law," said Senator Morahan. Assembly member Peter Rivera voiced his concern as well…"Our ongoing work to strengthen the quality of health care New Yorkers deserve demands that we include the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a coverable service which health insurers in New York must provide. With high rates of domestic violence, child abuse, growing gang violence and over 70 thousand New Yorkers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, PTSD is an illness with widespread impact on all our communities that needs our full attention." “Although the state’s mental health statute (aka Timothy’s Law) was only recently enacted in December of 2006, it has become increasingly obvious, as veterans return home from war, that access to coverage for PTSD treatment needs to be expanded” said Glenn Liebman, Co-Chair of the TLC and Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of NYS. Karin Moran, Director of Policy for the National Association of Social Workers-NYS Chapter, followed up on Liebman’s comments: “Report after report has shown that many of our veterans are seeking services outside of the VA and numerous reports such as the Presidents Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, have documented that ‘a sizeable fraction of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD.’ Given these facts, it is incumbent upon us as a society to assure access to vitally important treatment.” “In addition to our returning soldiers, New York is also home to thousands who still struggle with posttraumatic stress disorder related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. We cannot continue to restrict their access to treatment for PTSD,” noted Paige Pierce, Co-Chair of TLC and Executive Director of Families Together. “Furthermore, victims of rape, severe child abuse and other criminally violent attacks are also highly susceptible to developing PTSD, but none are guaranteed access to necessary treatment,” stated Harvey Rosenthal, TLC member and Executive Director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. “PTSD is biologically based mental illness and as such should be included in the state’s parity statute,” stated Richard Gallo, Director of Governmental Affairs for the NY State Psychiatric Association. Mr. Gallo went on to say: “Numerous studies such as the recent report in The Journal of Psychiatric Research, have established the existence of significant structural differences in hippocampal volume (in both sides of the brain) between PTSD patients and control groups; as such, treatment is necessary. And though treatment has been shown to be exceedingly efficacious in recent examinations such as the Institute of Medicine’s 2007 analysis, which concluded there is ample evidence supporting the efficacy of cognitive and exposure therapies among PTSD patients; non-treatment of PTSD comes with highly disturbing and often dangerous consequences. Recently released epidemiological research by the Division of Health and Science Policy of the New York Academy of Sciences suggests that untreated PTSD is related to increased health care utilization and adverse health outcomes such as the onset of cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, autoimmune diseases and even premature death.” Shelly Nortz, Deputy Executive Director for Policy, Coalition for the Homeless, further noted the extent of the consequences for untreated PTSD: "You’ll need to look no further than recent news reports of US veterans in Western New York winding up homeless as a result of their inability to access treatment for severe service-related psychological injuries including PTSD. Veterans having served our country in the Army and Marine Corps have lost good jobs with benefits, their homes, and their families. But just as they face large backlogs and erroneous Veterans Administration determinations about eligibility for treatment, they also find that they need more help than their private health insurance allows. This needless suffering comes at a great cost to these men and women, as well as society as a whole, and it’s time to fill the void with responsive and responsible public policy. We are grateful for the support of our sponsors and hopeful for swift passage of this important legislation." "The time is now for incorporating this debilitating and far reaching biological condition into mental health coverage in NY State. Including our veterans, thousands of folks with addiction illnesses have been fighting a devastating battle which is often times rooted in or complicated by significant traumatic events,” stated Richard Buckman, of the Long Island Recovery Association. Trauma –Remarks from Susan Bredice Trauma is a life changing occurrence – to live it over and over can be debilitating. My husband Barry and I have been foster parents for 23 years and I now work as a parent partner in the Children’s Mental Health System of Care. I am a witness to the devastations of trauma in the lives of children and my family has experienced our own struggles when one of our children was diagnosed with PTSD. Our daughter was placed with us at 3 years old and was adopted 4 years later. We are a middle class family and she had the experiences one would expect in a family like ours. When she entered her teens she started to show signs of anxiety, having bad dreams and was fearful of certain situations – many children do the same. She began have difficulty breathing after competitive sports or any stressful situations. The doctors thought it to be asthma. The asthma episodes turned into hyperventilation which led to passing out. The passing out led to convulsive episodes. We began seeing doctors and specialists. The episodes got worse and the paramedics came to our house multiple times. She was brought to the emergency rooms and hospitalized several times. There was no physical reason why she was having these seizures. The seizures were frightening and she began having those more and more frequently. She would pass out and start screaming, crawling across the floor, frothing at the mouth, fighting if you would approach her. When the EMS came they started monitoring her because her blood pressure would drop and her heart would race. One time her stats were at dangerous levels and EMS took her to the hospital where she was admitted. She continued to have pseudo-seizures. Our pediatrician told us once again there was no physical reason this was happening and it was most likely psychiatric. She was admitted to a psychiatric facility. She was diagnosed with PTSD. I would like to say that was the end but it wasn’t – it was the beginning. She began seeing therapists and psychiatrists. One medication was tried after another. She was hospitalized again. She began having convulsions in school. Our family life revolved around her good days and bad days. Every doctor’s visit, every medication, every therapy visit had a co-pay or full payment once the allotted number of visits ran out. Her brothers and sister faced their own trauma as they watched their sister battle this illness. Then finally a break through - the right medicine, the perfect therapist, a supportive school and community- she started responding. It has been 7 years since she was diagnosed with PTSD. Her abusive early years had haunted her teen years. She is a success story – but the story will never be over. She continues to take medication and goes to therapy. She presently attends college on a sports scholarship, but she still struggles with the issues of her past. We are a blessed family because we were able to survive and find the needed supports and we were financially able to pay for what was needed. Not everyone is as lucky. Many of the families I work with at our Resource Center are not able to afford the treatment that could be available to them. Trauma is now known to be the root of many mental disorders. The effects of PTSD are devastating to the child and the family. Early identification, affordable care, preventative services and supports, and most of all mental health insurance parity by amending Timothy’s Law to include PTSD need to be our priority for family wellness and success. |
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