My intent in writing this SharePost is to give you the tools to take action.
In New York city the owners of SYMS clothing store advertise: "An educated consumer is our best customer." We can co-opt those words because the best customers of mental health services are those of us who educate ourselves about our illness, research treatment options and commit to our recoveries.
We do buy these services because we pay good money to the professionals involved in our care, and so we have the right and duty to be informed and take action. The focus of this SharePost will be mental health treatment in the United States: advocating for ourselves and others.
First I will talk about something my psychiatrist suggested I address publicly: the lack of universal health care that jeopardizes people who want to work at a job to bring in extra money to supplant their government disability checks. In some states in the U.S. as soon as you earn a scant $100 in income you lose your Medicaid benefits and the ability to pay for your SZ drugs.
In New York State, the Medicaid Buy-In program allows people who earn up to $44K to pay for continued Medicaid coverage.
Aside from losing benefits, the number-one problem is accessing mental health treatment to begin with. The Fall 2010 SZ magazine Points of View panel moderated by Melissa Keith had as its topic: Seeking Essential Services: Where Should Consumers Go?
Margery Wakefield responded: "In our country (USA) we don't have socialized medicine which I feel is a mistake because in countries with socialized medicine patients with my illness are more likely to get help."
Routinely: I field questions on this web site from community members who reveal they have no health insurance to address their mental health problems.
I realize that a number of people diagnosed with schizophrenia might not be proactive or might not feel they have the skills to lobby on their behalf, let alone join the fight to help others in the same boat.
It comes down to another slogan popularized in the drive to register people with psychiatric conditions to vote. The simple words are: "I vote, I count."
A historical battle that took close to a decade ended in victory: the mental health parity bill was signed into law by the president. It guaranteed equal coverage for mental illnesses on par with physical illnesses covered by private health insurance plans.
Right now: contacting your elected officials in the U.S. government is as simple as sending them an e-mail. Find your senator or house of representatives member and log on to their home page. The National Alliance on Mental Illness can make this process easier. Log on to their Legislative Action Center to get e-mail alerts of mental health bills that are under review and use NAMI's talking points in composing a letter or e-mail to your elected officials.
