CONTACT: Carole Szpak202/393-6700, Ext. 18[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Making the Case for Behavioral Health" To Be Focus of 2002 NAPHS Annual Membership and Board Meeting
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), CMS Administrator Thomas Scully, SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie, and Other Policy Experts To Be Featured
(Washington, DC)...Top policy experts will help those who deliver psychiatric and addiction treatment services focus on "Making the Case for Behavioral Health" at the Annual Membership and Board of Trustees meeting of the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS). The meeting will be held April 29-30, 2002, at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) will provide perspective from Capitol Hill. A strong advocate of parity health insurance coverage for mental health, Sen. Domenici is the Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Budget Committee.
Perspective from the Bush Administration will be provided by Thomas A. Scully, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); and Charles G. Curie, Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Top Washington lobbyist Michael Bromberg, Chairman, Capitol Health Group, will help participants understand who the power brokers are in Washington, how the system works, and how providers can better influence the process and anticipate the chances for changes that will affect behavioral health.
A panel discussion will feature perspectives from organizations representing state issues, consumers and families, and data collection efforts. Kicking off the focus on "A Strategic Action Plan" for making the case for behavioral health will be James D. Bentley, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Strategic Policy Planning at the American Hospital Association. Panel participants include Richard C. Birkel, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Robert W. Glover, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors; Ronald W. Manderscheid, Ph.D., Chief, Survey and Analysis Branch, Center for Mental Health Services; and Matt Salo, Legislative Director, Health, National Governors' Association.
The meeting will also provide time for participants to visit with the Congressional representatives to gain support for expanding coverage and access, coordinating care, and ensuring fair funding for behavioral health. For registration information, contact NAPHS at 202/393-6700, Ext. 15, or see www.naphs.org.
NAPHS advocates for behavioral health and represents provider systems that are committed to the delivery of responsive, accountable, and clinically effective prevention, treatment, and care for children, adolescents, and adults with mental and substance use disorders. NAPHS represents behavioral healthcare provider organizations, including more than 300 psychiatric hospitals, general hospital psychiatric units, residential treatment centers, youth services organizations, and behavioral group practices.
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