Hello and Welcome!

You are invited to join us as we celebrate the third annual Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Bebe Moore Campbell, celebrated journalist, author and co-founder of NAMI Urban Los Angeles (NULA), dedicated her life to educating and advocating for our loved ones dealing with mental illness.

Bebe's Month; the month of July, is dedicated to raising the community's awareness about mental illness and that long-term stabilization is possible.

Please join us on Thursday, July 15, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm as we honor:

Kita Curry Ph. D, Pres. /CEO
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services

Curley L. Bonds MD, Medical Director
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services

The Late Anna L. Smith MD
Pioneer Professional for Los Angeles Mental Health Services

Key Speaker, Dr. Marvin Southard, DSW
Director of Los Angeles County Dept. of Mental Health

Performance by: Billy Valentine
Boston Legal, TV Series Vocalist

Special thanks to LETS Educational Foundation as Premiere Sponsor of this event.

Tickets for this event are $50.00

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If you are unable to attend, but would like to make a donation, please click below.

WASHINGTON -- Many Americans will get broader coverage for mental illness and substance abuse treatment under rules issued Friday by the Obama administration.

Health plans offered by employers with more than 50 workers will be required to treat mental health benefits the same way they handle coverage for physical ailments. That means no separate annual deductibles for mental health treatment. And copayments for visiting a psychiatrist or social worker can't be more than the charge for going to the family doctor or a medical specialist.

"Health plans will be under an obligation to provide the same level of coverage for treatment of mental illness as they do for cancer, diabetes and heart disease," said Andrew Sperling of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The rules, which take effect July 1, provide a blueprint for employers to carry out a law passed by Congress in 2008 with broad bipartisan support.

The legislation aims to remove financial barriers to treatment for people with mental health problems. About 140 million Americans in more than 450,000 employer plans will benefit from improved coverage.

The law also prohibits health plans from setting limits on number of visits or hospital days for mental health problems that are different from any such limitations on treatment for medical problems. Sperling said the rules issued Friday clarify that other kinds of treatment limits in health plans, such as case reviews and lists of preferred drugs, may not be used to discriminate against people with mental illness.

The Congressional Budget Office concluded the law would raise costs only slightly, less than half of 1 percent, for employers.

Survey Reveals Big Gap in Understanding of Depression; Almost 50 Percent of Caregivers Have Also Been Diagnosed; More Than One Treatment Option Helpful

Arlington, VA--Americans do not believe they know much about depression, but are highly aware of the risks of not receiving care, according to a survey released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

See full survey results at http://www.nami.org/depression.

The survey provides a "three dimensional" measurement of responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults diagnosed with depression, and adults actually living with the illness.

• Seventy-one percent of the public sample said they are not familiar with depression, but 68 percent or more know specific consequences that can come from not receiving treatment—including suicide (84 percent)
• Sixty-two percent believe they know some symptoms of depression, but 39 percent said they do not know many or any at all.

One major finding: almost 50 percent of caregivers who responded had been diagnosed with depression themselves, but only about 25 percent said they were engaged in treatment.

Almost 60 percent of people living with depression reported that they rely on their primary care physicians rather than mental health professionals for treatment. Medication and "talk therapy" are primary treatments—if a person can get them—but other options are helpful.

• Fifteen percent of people living with depression use animal therapy with 54 percent finding it to be "extremely" or "quite a bit" helpful. Those using prayer and physical exercise also ranked them high in helpfulness (47 percent and 40 percent respectively).
• When people living with depression discontinue medication or talk therapy, cost is a common reason, but other significant factors include a desire "to make it on my own, " whether they believe the treatment is actually working and in the case of medication, side effects.

"The survey reveals gaps and guideposts on roads to recovery, " said NA MI Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "It tells what has been found helpful in treating depression. It can help caregivers better anticipate stress that will confront them. It reflects issues that need to be part of ongoing health care reform."

"There are many treatment strategies" said NAMI Medical Director Ken Duckworth. "What often works is a combination of treatments that fit a person and their lifestyle.

"Research indicates that the combination of medication and psychotherapy are most effective. But physical exercise, prayer, music therapy, yoga, animal therapy and other practices all can play a role.

"The good news is that 80 percent or more of the public recognize that depression is a medical illness, affecting people of all ages, races and socioeconomic groups, which can be treated. "

Harris Interactive conducted the survey for NAMI on-line between September 29 and October 7, 2009. Participants included 1,015 persons who did not know anyone diagnosed with depression, 513 persons living with depression and 263 caregivers of a family member or significant other diagnosed with depression.

The survey was made possible with support from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly & Co. and Wyeth. NAMI does not endorse or promote any specific medication, treatment, product or service. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI has over 1100 state and local affiliates that engage in research, education, support and advocacy.

Action Required

• Requesting meetings with them in their state and district offices,
• Attending congressional town meetings and “listening sessions,”
• Calling into appearances on local radio programs,
• Talking to them at community parades, picnics and other public appearances (ribbon cuttings, Rotary Clubs, etc.), and
• Writing letters to the editor of local papers.

What is NAMI's Message?

1. Move this year on health reform legislation that provides quality and affordable health care for all while reducing the rate of growth in health care costs in the future;
2. Ensure that mental illness treatment is included as part of any required basic benefit package AND is covered at parity relative to medical surgical benefits consistent with Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008; and
3. Address medical co-morbidities experienced by individuals with serious mental illness through expanded access to primary care and early intervention services.

• Adequate financing in order to guarantee that health reform lives up to its promise of delivering comprehensive, affordable coverage;
• Income-based standards for premiums, co-payments, deductibles and all out-of-pocket health care costs;
• Premium subsidies on a sliding scale up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level along with limits on cost sharing so health coverage is affordable for all American families;
• An expansion of Medicaid that strengthens and maintains Medicaid's role as the base of coverage for current mandatory beneficiaries;
• Improvements to portability, enrollment, and renewal to maximize coverage, minimize red tape, and provide stability for all Americans;
• Regulations that prevent insurance companies from discriminating based on health status, gender, and occupation;
• Guarantees that quality, affordable health care coverage is available across the country and that individuals and families have options in selecting health plans;
• Financial support and incentives for primary community-based care - especially for children and adults living with serious mental illness;
• Adequate cost savings to improve long-range fiscal stability;
• A strong employer responsibility requirement with penalties for those employers who do not offer coverage based on total payroll rather than penalties tied only to employees who receive income subsidies;
• Sufficient assistance for states so that federal health reform does not impose an unnecessary burden on already strained state budgets, and that does not punish states that have chosen to expand Medicaid and SCHIP coverage above federal requirements.

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