Good morning, sunshine! (BBI)
From National Alliance on Mental Illness:
Senate Passes Budget Bill That Is Potentially Harmful For Medicaid Recipients With Serious Mental Illnesses
December 21, 2005
This morning, the Senate passed the Budget Reconciliation package (S 1932) on a 50-50 tie vote, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote, allowing the bill to pass. S 1932, as passed, allows states to impose co-pays and other cost sharing requirements in their Medicaid programs. However, because of a last minute procedural "point of order," the bill must now go back to the House for a second vote -- the House had previously passed the bill on December 19. Thus, the House still has a chance to do the right thing and remove the harmful Medicaid provisions.
The House is not expected to reconvene until January, at which time it will be required to vote again on the amended budget package, presenting advocates with a final opportunity to block the legislation.
It is unclear at this point how many House members would have to switch their votes to defeat the amended budget package. The first vote in the House on December 19 was 212-206, with 17 members absent (it is expected that a majority of the members that missed the vote support the package). Despite this, NAMI intends to redouble its efforts to reach out to House members in the coming weeks to defeat the amended budget package. Your grassroots advocacy is urgently needed to prevent S 1932 from becoming law!
Action Needed
Please contact your U.S. Representative to urge opposition to S 1932 when it comes up for a vote. Explain that the Medicaid cost-sharing requirements contained in S 1932 will prevent impoverished people living with severe mental illnesses from receiving needed treatment and will therefore lead to increased homelessness, hospitalizations, criminalization, and suffering.
I confess that I understand very little of the above. I'm still getting my legislative information from Schoolhouse Rock. Anyway, there is action you can take.
•Contact your representatives and yell at them! [NAMI.org]
