Healthcare Reform -- A Shared Success, A National Victory!

With the spring school break and congressional recess comes a timely moment to reflect upon the historic enactment of comprehensive health care reform legislation--now signed into law.

You made this victory possible.

We want to show our appreciation for your tireless advocacy for health care reform. This national victory is a shared success by all who let their voices be heard in support, and we thank you!

The health care reform law bears many benefits for people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders, starting with the ability for millions who have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition to gain access to affordable, quality health care coverage. Our summary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act lists all of these benefits.

 Won't you please take a moment to thank your elected officials in Congress who did their part to make health reform a reality at last? Now is a good time, while they're home during the recess. You can learn how they voted from the roll call records on our health reform web page and you can find their Washington and district office information via www.thomas.gov.

 Thank you, again, for helping change the lives of millions of Americans,

 Robert Bernstein, Executive Director, and the Policy Team: Chris Koyanagi, Laurel Stine, Elaine Alfano and Allison Wishon Siegwarth

Round Four of the National Beneficiary Survey Begins in April 2010

(http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch/research.htm#nbs)

In April 2010 the Social Security Administration will launch the fourth round of the National Beneficiary Survey (NBS). The NBS is an important survey sponsored by the Social Security Administration to collect information about beneficiaries with disabilities. The survey is part of a study required by Congress to evaluate how well the Ticket to Work and other SSA programs are meeting the needs of disability beneficiaries.

The NBS is being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research. The survey collects information on the programs and services used by beneficiaries with disabilities, their health, and any employment goals they may have. As a token of appreciation, beneficiaries will receive a check for $10.00 after completing the interview.

The NBS Does Not ask beneficiaries for Social Security Numbers or confidential banking information.

Telephone interviews for the survey will begin in April 2010. Mathematica Policy Research will attempt in-person interviews with beneficiaries who are not reached by phone beginning in July 2010. ALL in-person NBS interviewers are required to show a Mathematica Policy Research badge that displays: 

• a color photograph of the interviewer,
• his or her name and signature,
• the name of the survey, and
• a toll free number (1-877-293-5740). 

In-person interviewers use a laptop computer to conduct interviews. They do not use paper interviews.

We need your help! If a beneficiary asks you about the NBS, please encourage them to participate in this very important survey. If there is any question about the identity of the interviewer, please have the beneficiary contact Mathematica Policy Research at 1-877-293-5740. 

Washington, March 24 (ANI): A new research has suggested that obtaining therapy via teleconference is just as effective as face-to-face sessions.

"Previous studies have shown that phobia therapy via teleconferencing was just as efficient as face to face contact. We wanted to see if the process could also be used for post-traumatic stress treatment," said Stephane Guay, a psychiatry professor at the Universiti de Montreal.

Until recently, telemedicine was limited to doctors using the technology to communicate with peers who would weigh-in on x-rays results or supervise a surgery.

With teletherapy, patients could theoretically consult experts from the other side of the globe.

As part of this study, 17 post-traumatic stress victims from the Outaouais region underwent 16 to 25 sessions via teleconference with Montreal therapists. A control group consisted of patients receiving face-to-face therapy.

The teletherapy participants, however, still needed to visit a hospital equipped with the necessary equipment and supervised by medical personnel.

"It would be ethically indefensible for them to stay home. Post-traumatic stress therapies require that a patient relive certain traumatic events and should they become uncomfortable it is mandatory that someone be there to intervene," Guay said.

The teletherapy group and the control group equally benefited from their therapy.

"The same number of patients in both groups saw a significant decrease in their post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety symptoms," said Guay.

Patients were later evaluated and none were affected by distance to their therapist and none expressed discomfort about the technological aspects of the procedure.

"In fact, comments were more in favor of tele-therapy. It seems patients appreciate a certain distance from their therapist," Guay said. (ANI)

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Congratulates the U.S. House of Representatives on Passing Health Care Reform, Making Substantial Investments in America's Health

Washington, DC - March 21, 2010 - The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law congratulates the House of Representatives for its historic, final passage of the health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), along with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HR 4872) which makes improvements to the Senate bill. The reforms will give quality, affordable health care to nearly all Americans for the first time in our nation's history.

"We applaud the House members who had the courage to vote to give health care to all Americans," said Robert Bernstein, executive director of the Bazelon Center.  "Passage of health care reform is a victory for all of us- the uninsured, underinsured and insured. We as advocates have been working for this day for decades," Bernstein added.

"These reforms will allow Americans to achieve full health and recovery through significant investments in expanded health care access, including mental health, substance use, rehabilitation and prevention services, as well as collaborative care and chronic care management," said Laurel Stine, director of federal relations at the Bazelon Center. "This is particularly notable given that four of the ten leading causes of disability in the United States are mental disorders and 87 percent of Americans cite lack of insurance coverage as the top reason for not seeking mental health services," Stine added.

"Furthermore, these reforms are truly significant triumphs in the integration of mental health in health care," said Stine. "Building upon the recent congressional victory of mental health parity in 2008, millions of Americans will have parity benefits and the guarantee of mental health coverage and will not live in fear of being denied coverage due to a pre-exisiting condition, such as a mental disorder."

For more information, visit the Bazelon Center's health care reform page.