August 13, 2008

Proposed Cuts to Mental Health Budget

We continue our advocacy in attempting to insure that there are no additional mental health budget cuts. As a clarification to our update from yesterday, we stated that Medicaid was part of the Local Assistance budget that was exempt from cuts. While this is true as stated in the Governor’s press release, I didn’t want to infer that Medicaid separate from the Local Assistance Budget was not part of the proposed budget cuts. In fact, cuts to Medicaid represent half of the proposed budget cuts.

To follow up with our prior updates, listed below is a recap of the possible impact to mental health of the proposed budget cuts.

• Local Assistance Funding which could possibly include cuts to clubhouses, case management, children’s services, suicide prevention and several other items

• New Initiative findings including cuts to Housing Development, PROS Employment, Co-0ccurring Disorders, Managed Care Demo’s and Family Support Services for Clinic Plus
  
• Member Item funding which includes cuts to Veterans’ Training Institute, Health Care Enhancements and several programs that rely on member item funding for agency shortfalls.
  

In addition in the health budget, there are proposals to eliminate the carve out in the Preferred Drug List for anti-depressants and cuts to Adult Home Advocacy groups as well as cuts to ENABLE and QIPP funding for Adult Homes

As of now, there are no proposed cuts to the COLA or to Clinic Rate Restructuring.

Strategies:

We have attached a draft letter that we urge you to send to your Senator and Assembly Member regarding any proposed mental health cuts. Please feel free to use this letter in your advocacy. Also continue your phone calls to legislators urging them to not cut funding for mental health services.

We also continue to get the word out to the community regarding budget cuts. Listed below, after the draft letter, is a Gannett article from yesterday on our call not to cut mental health funding from the budget.

DRAFT LETTER

August 13, 2008

The Honorable (Title) (Name)
(room number) (Legislative Office Building/State Capital)
Albany, NY 12248

Dear (Assembly member last name, Senator last name,):

My name is (name and title here) I represent (name of agency/organization here). I am writing to you to urge you not to cut funding for mental health services from the current state budget.

The current economy takes a toll on those receiving care for psychiatric disabilities and others who seek care due to anxiety, depression and other psychiatric illnesses that are directly fueled by difficult economic times. Many of those affected rely on programs that exist because of state and local assistance. Sadly, without such funding many will choose to forgo desperately needed care in order to pay bills, put food on the table or make next month’s mortgage payment.

Also, there are thousands of individuals already in the public mental health systems served by community providers who will be dramatically harmed by any additional cuts. We can appreciate the need for responsible spending at a time when we are all challenged by economic conditions. But cutting mental health services can cause great harm to people’s lives and only add to the costs for taxpayers as many people who can’t get services either end up in emergency rooms or correctional facilities.

At the time when people most need mental health services because of an unsettled economic climate, we should not be cutting funding to essential services.

Hard economic times force everyone to make hard decisions. As we all make our way through this crisis, we urge you to help people who have suffered economically and emotionally to get back on their feet so they too can one day contribute back to New York’s economy. Please do not support any cuts to mental health funding.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

(name)
(title)`

Gannett Newspaper Article on Mental Health Budget Cuts

More Groups Add Voices To Protest
August 12, 2008
B y Cara Matthews, Gannett News Service Politics On The Hudson, Lo-Hud.com

Like many other groups, mental-health advocates are campaigning against Gov. David Paterson’s proposed budget cuts. One of his recommendations, which would have to be approved by the Legislature, would reduce local-assistance programs for the mentally ill by 6 percent. Much of the money goes to community-based providers, according to the Mental Health Association of New York State.

“This is bad public policy that hurts both the individuals with psychiatric disabilities and taxpayers,” MHANYS CEO Glen Liebman said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County.

Also on the cutting board, the association said, are:

• Cutting in half new funding initiatives and member items (commonly known as pork-barrel spending), some of which were specifically identified for mental-health program

• Reducing prescription flexibility for individuals with psychiatric disabilities who are in the public mental-health system and take anti-depressant medications.

   

Advocates argue that more individuals seek mental-health care in difficult economic times. Reducing community-based services would shift costs to more institutionalized care. More people with psychiatric disabilities would end up in emergency rooms, the prison system and other settings, they said.

(Please note that the letters we sent to both Senate Majority Leader Skelos and Assembly Speaker Silver were in yesterday’s update)