We Must Advocate for Older Adults with Behavioral Health Conditions

• By: Kimberly Williams, LMSW Lisa Furst, LMSW, MPH Michael B. Friedman, LMSW
• July 1st, 2017
• aging population, behavioral health services, healthcare access, Medicaid reform, mental health policy, older adults, social isolation, suicide risk
• 1840    0

As of this writing, the healthcare and behavioral health systems are facing unprecedented threats from proposed legislation to significantly roll back the gains achieved through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Medicaid is also under threat, as the current legislative proposal attempts to alter its...

Congressional Mental Health Policy Reform: Hope or Hype?

• By: Michael B. Friedman, LMSW Columbia University School of Social Work
• July 1st, 2016
• access to care, behavioral health services, community mental health, evidence-based practices, mental health policy, mental health reform, mental health workforce, quality of care
• 1739    0

Since the tragic killings in Newtown, CT in 2013, most politicians have mistakenly maintained that mass murder is largely a consequence of a “broken” mental health system. In Washington, and elsewhere, elected officials have been promising to “fix” the system, and to their credit they have...

The NYSPA Report: Momentum Building for Comprehensive Mental Health Reform in Congress

• By: Matthew Sturm American Psychiatric Association
• April 1st, 2016
• evidence-based care, healthcare legislation, mental health parity, mental health policy, mental health reform, mental health research, mental health workforce, severe mental illness
• 1640    0

More than three years after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School sparked a national conversation on issues related to mental illness and the prevention of violence to self and others, Congress is currently closer than any point in recent history to act on bipartisan, bicameral...