Hi Family of Friends,
I am glad to be back and I apologize for the sudden disappearance. I lost my grandmother and I made a couple of trips down south to assist with her final affairs.
Praise God the momentum for Healthcare Reform lives strong and well because our brothers and sisters in the south will be so much better off when this Healthcare Reform is passed. Praise Him, too, that the Secretary of Health in the South supports President Obama's healthcare reform stimulus plan.
47 million people are WITHOUT healthcare because it is not affordable!!!!!!! Your help today can be the voice for a southern brother or sister who does not have access to healthcare, a phone, or a computer! Please read the separate Town Hall Meeting to get more insight into what will be inlcuded in healthcare reform.
Now, please, let's get cranking......
Please read the following Legislation Alert sent by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. We each can participate in less than 5 minutes and it would make a powerful, powerful show of strength from the mental health community!!!!!!!
WE need to FLOOD our Congresspersons and Legislators phone lines and voice mails and e-mails during the week of August 3 through the August 7, 2009. I have taken the time to give you the links to Congress at
www.senate.gov and the House of Representatives at
www.house.gov. Please, please take 5 minutes to click the links all the way to your Congressman or Representative and support NAMI on one of the talking points below.
Expect that you will be leaving a message, but that the message will be counted!!! Each message represents 100 people!!! You can do this over the weekend, evening, etc.
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It is very important that your Congressman and Senators Mikulski and Cardin (Maryland) hear from you now on Health Care Reform.
NAMI has provided toll-free numbers below to call our Congressional offices through August 7th. Also provided below is a basic message on health care reform and additional information.
Please do not delay. There is much at stake with Health Care Reform.
Sincerely,
Janet Edelman
President
NAMI Maryland at
www.namimetropolitanbaltimore.org Health Reform Effort at a Critical Stage -- Your Calls are Needed!
July 30, 2009
As Congress moves toward its month-long summer recess, health care legislation has reached a critical stage. While neither the House nor the Senate is expected to move forward on a final vote on legislation this week, a strong grassroots push is needed to keep the pro-reform effort on track going into the fall. A toll-free number is up and running to direct calls to all House and Senate offices. While advocates can also send e-mails and hand-written notes to members of Congress, phone calls directly to congressional offices are drawing the most attention in this critical stage in the debate (because it shuts down the phone lines and Congresspersons then know it is a desperate decision to vote favorably or they will be in hot water with constituents!!).
The House is expected to adjourn for its summer recess on July 31, while the Senate is expected to follow on or about August 7. Even if votes are not taken in either chamber on the legislation, NAMI will be engaging in a broad grassroots advocacy campaign throughout the month of August -- including efforts to reach members of Congress while they are in their states and congressional districts.
Act Now!
Advocates are strongly encouraged to use the following toll-free numbers that will be up and running through August 7:
To connect to House offices, call 1-800-828-0498. A second toll-free number -- 1-866-308-6259 -- will connect callers to a recording that requires them to enter their zip code and then be connected directly to their House member.
To connect to Senate offices, call 1-866-544-7573. Again, callers will hear a pre-recorded message and will need to enter your zip code. You will then be asked whether you want your call to go to your state's junior Senator or your senior Senator. Each state has two U.S. Senators, and the senior Senator from your state has been in the Senate longer than the junior Senator. To send your call to your junior Senator, Press 1. To send your call to your senior Senator, Press 2. After making your selection, your call will be redirected to the appropriate office.
What is NAMI's Message? (TALKING POINTS)
NAMI's basic message to Congress is:
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;
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 Address medical co-morbidities experienced by individuals with serious mental illness through expanded access to primary care and early intervention services.
NAMI also urges that any health care reform package should include:
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.
Learn More
Learn more about health reform and read NAMI's principles and goals for health reform legislation in the US.
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NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online. Visit (Maryland) NAMI at
www.namimetropolitanbaltimore.org Agnes B. Levine is the Author of "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" (ISBN 13 978-0-97854612-0-4. Available for sale NOW on
www.amazon.com To unsubscribe from this list: Create an email to sympa@nami.org
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Thanks!
NAMI-Metropolitan Baltimore, Inc.
5210 York Road Rear Annex
Baltimore, MD 21212
(410) 435-2600
The Baltimore metropolitan area's voice on mental illness providing peer education & support, public education and policy advocacy
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Posted By: agnes levine
Saturday, August 1st 2009 at 10:46AM
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