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I haven't had time to properly interlink these pages; to navigate, use back browser or return (go to if not initially there) the main index page of this section of mmy site. Austin Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI Austin) Mrs. Jo Ann Grantham 703-6421 They meet 4th Monday of each month 7:30 PM at Shoal Creek Hospital, and they also offer a number of "family support groups" at a variety of locations. Ask which companies are known to have good mental health coverage. Jo Ann Grantham is very helpful - doesn't always have alot of answers up front but will research it. I am impressed by the number of actual mental health consumers in this group. In Buffalo NY, the idea of mental health consumers functioning let alone taking some intelligent role in MAMI was anethema. Diana Kern is the legislative person for Austin NAMI. 1-830-303-8970 dkzeuf(2)@aol.com Austin AMI may be getting an office in TEXAMI office space. social workers and psych nurses at St. DAvid's Pavilion 867-5800 1025 E 32nd (St. David's Hospital is at 919 E. 32nd) Page Satterfield, outpatient admissions. Triina in billing (a guy) Dorothy, case mgr, utilization review, chemical dependancy, this woman provides more unsolicited advice on why not to learn what coverage problems to avoid than practical information on how to do it. Kevin Davis, outpatient utilization review person who wasn't there. Georgia Anne, utilization review for outpatient psychiatric care, she is extremely helpful. * One key piece of advice - Austin's psychiatrists are booked months in advance, book appointment months ahead of when you want to see them. and Seton Shoal Creek Hospital 452-0261 3501 Mills Ave. People recommended by NAMI: (working on this possible closure due to low reimbursement by managed care problem) Reed Minot Carol Obmay Ellen Bomer, Comm. Texas Dept of Insurance 333 Guadeloupe St PO Box 149104 Austin TX 78714 512-463-6169 Texas Dept of Insurance They have among other things consumer brochures on line - didn't find that much. Rhonda Myron 463-6651 has testified most consistently at hearings to do with both mental health parity and how well insurance companies handle claims. 463-6169 department # Rhonda Myron said they don't have anything published and they haven't kept track of either the success of the bill or problems with it, or who has good or bad track records re complaints, we'll see then what on earth she testified to at the hearing! But she gave me two numbers for information. They are supposed to have recently published a report for the legislature on insurance mandates. Govt Relations Divison did the report, 463-6651. The State Mandates Report. Copies may be with Diana Lonely or Longley, 305-7298, Live Health Group. At TDI, talk to Pat Brewer, 305-7277, she does legislative implementation and referred me to Kady Crismon for HMO plans, and Diane Molinberg, 322-4270, for non-HMO (indemnity) plans. They are who keep track of complaints that come in! (for information on what sorts of complaints they are getting rel to mental health care and coverage) HMO Complaint Line (Cady Crismon, director of complaints, HMO Quality Assurance) 305-7238. Supposedly same info as below on HMO's. She also takes or tracks complaints about HMO's. She said to e-mail her my question, cady.crismon@tdi.state.tx.us. Comsumer complaint line 1-800-578-4677 #1 for complaints and info . To complain to Dept of Insurance about denial of coverage in Austin: consumer help line 463-6515. (Also, if you've been denied care by an HMO, you can use their independent review process; takes little time in emergency, ie 8 calendar days? 15 business cays to 20 in other situations. The time they have to respond once you make your complaint. You don't give up any rights by taking that route. Also, if you threaten to file complaint with insurance agency you may get somewhere because insurance companies and HMO's don't want alot of complaints on their record. They say the person I spoke with was Linda Lamar, now in staff meeting. Linda Lamar called and said it was Joanna I talked to and to tell her what more Joanna could tell me - hmm. Linda Lamar at 463-4669. She said that the notion that alot of companies are providing mental health parity in their insurance coverage of their employees that is cited everywhere came from "something that is going on at the Congressional level" and I have been unable to locate her to get more specific info. They have a 1994 booklet on the complaint records of insurance companies, hopelessly out of date, among other things, laws about disability and mental health coverage have changed hugely since then. They are compiling a re-write of that. They keep complaint ratios of insurance companies and also of insurance agents, and one can call them to inquire about any of them. I think she said they can also check on HMO's records. Also, they have much of this on line and are working at getting all of it on line by the end of FEbruary of this year. At the TDI web site, at right hand side, 3/4 of the way down, co. profile. EVerything but AMS Financial rating that AMS won't let them publish. Another way to check on particular insurance plans and HMO's; call the office of Public Insurance Council (OPEC) and ask for the report card on them. 322-4143. I also have Laurie Persons testified at the hearings from this department. Also, they have their pamphlets on health insurance and HMO's, etc. in their general lobby information rack at the TDI offices at 333 Guadeloupe, between 34th Guadeloupe and Lavaca, off of 4th STreet. If booklets are missing from the rack, ask at the information desk to check in the mail room where they are kept. John Bush Executive Director, Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians, 401 West 15th Suite 675, 478-0605, tsppofc@aol.com He is on everything to do with mental health parity. CALL BACK. need article from Psychiatric News, 1998, on NAMI award to nine companies for providing parity. Also he said he wrote a recent article in local newsletter. Mary Vaughn, c/o 720 West 34th St. 454-7741. Public and Governmental AFfairs committees. Administrative secretary, TSPP, 420-8484. The active physician in TSPP who Connie Barron recommended may be Robert Zapalac of Austin Diagnostic Clinic they get more than their average share of managed care. Other members of TSPP who testified: Conway McDanald, Deborah C. Peel, Larry E. Tripp (from Dallas) WHO IS THE OUTSPOKEN LOCAL PSYCHIATRIST I SHOULD ASK? Bob McFarad (?) Tex Psychiatric Physicians. I doubt I have either the pronunciation or the spelling right - he is outspoken on managed mental health care and parity and it was suggested I call him. Is this ____ McDanald? Kathy Cronkite a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council - a mental health advocate from Austin, Texas. She is apparently a figurehead, and not involved in local advocacy at all. She is also Walter Cronkite's daughter. Dr. Wm. Reid MHMR Sen. Moncrief Mr. Caroll Schaffer Pres Texan? Garnet Coleman, member of House of Representative (Texas state) was sponsor or author of both 1997 and 1999 mental health parity bills. Room E1.408, Capitol Extension, Austin TX 463-0524. Caton Fenz his legislative director. home office; 5445 Alameda Suite 403, Houston 713-520-5355. Caton Fenz says he is who worked on these bills. garnet.coleman@house.state.tx.us. Also, Glen Maxey, 463-0552. local state legislator, very helpful in negotiating the system, has worked alot on funding and medications for mental health care. Brent Biggs his aide working on this stuff Austin Mental Health Advocacy Resources
Links to my own copies of the laws and links to bill history:
Text of the Texas Mental Health Parity Laws Legislative history of the Texas Mental Health Parity Laws and state legislative and other related resources. Brian Shannon is at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. 806-742-1355, brian.shannon@ttu.edu The son of Jacqueline Shannon, then pres. TEXAMI, now director of the board, national NAMI, has written two good articles in law reviews about parity in Texas and its problems. Texas Mental Health Consumers 7701 N. Lamar Suite 500 78752 451-3191 Mike Halligan, Executive Director. Mike_Halligan@tmhc.org They mostly do advocacy training for mental health consumers to sit on various boards around town - or that is the idea I got. They also provide services such as a drop in center for the seriously mentally ill, on South First STreet, called SHAC. MIke Halligan made some phone calls for me and will help one how he can - as long as one doesn't quote the vaguer and more scary things he says about extremely important subjects, such as that the "county mental health center" where he and his wife work, or worked, the tense changed after he learned I'd checked this out, don't provide ANY mental health coverage for their workers, because they claim exemption under ERISA because they self-insure and something about the nature of their health insurance contract! Now, that is exactly what he said to me. It turns out he works, or "worked", for some organization that contracts with the office of Travis County MHMR, which is a private but publicly funded agency - and both Travis County and the office of Travis County MHMR provide full mental health parity to all of their employees. Now, of course I checked on whether Travis County really thinks they've found a way out of complying with the state law that requires them to provide full mental health parity for county employees.When Mike learned I'd quoted him, it emerged among other things that Texas Mental Health Consumers focuses exclusively on serving the segment of the mentally ill population who are extremely seriously chronically disabled and often even institutionalized - and Mike has no time to be worrying about providing mental health parity to "nonconsumers". That of course is the reason why he has never read the mental health parity act and knew very little about it except for a vague perception tha it is a weak law that doesn't do very much. I should work with NAMI on this - and goodbye. Mike Halligan doesn't do a whole lot of thinking anything through. More on that theme - with his clout and status, and his secretary's big rolodex of contacts, he should have been able to identify for me exactly who could answer my questions about parity - if he could have figured out who that would be.
I learned that Mike Halligan is far from alone if as came across he doesn't know whether his employer is Travis County, and also that misleading uses of "Travis County" and "county" in organizational names and close and confused relationships between the county and the office of Travis Co MHMR and contractors make it very easy to misunderstand what someone is saying. Since I did twice, once by calling him back, specifically ask Mike Halligan for more details and all I could get him to say was "I don't want to be quoted", if I did misunderstand him, it is his own fault, and it's also his own fault for saying "county mental health center" without specifying what he was talking about. Besides don't rely on or expect too much from Mike Halligan, the lesson is, one has to be careful to distinguish what is being talked about when it comes to whether Texas organizations and agencies that wear the name county comply with the mental health parity law. The above places appear to be part of the state's mental health delivery system. The Drop-In Center may be the creation of local advocacy groups using public grant money (from Texas Mental Health Consumers) The Drop-In Center, on S. 1st Street, was run by Office of Travis County MHMR, now run by Texas Mental Health Consumers, under the name SHAC. Mental Health Planning Advisory Committee Mental Health Policy Committee The above are probably a combination of one of the boards the area is required to have that includes consumer participation, and the coalition of mental health organizations that sometimes lobbies for legislation, which I have as the "Consortium of Disability Policy". This consortium has no physical existence, it consists of the people and groups who work on it, and its offices are theirs. Mental Health Association in Texas chapt office 454-3706 Mental Health Association in Texas 8401 Shoal Creek Blvd (just north of Steck) 454-3706 mhainfo@mhatexas.org info@mha-austin.org There once was a local chapter - and it closed. Mary Deeze, will research resources for you. She didn't have anything for me - except talk to Kim McPherson. Don't know if she is uninformed or lazy, or just does helpful by being honest. Kim McPherson, public policy specialist - I was widely referred to her, 454-3706. kim@mhatexas.org Kim McPherson took me weeks to catch up with, but when I did, she proved to be knowledgeable and very helpful. She encouraged me to give out her number for anyone with insurance problems to call her. It is important to leave one's phone number for her to call back, I had a problem because that is not practical in my case. This is a good resource who people should utilize. She says that ERISA exempts both all plans that are self-funded by employers, and multi-employer plans organized by unions (and possibly part of collective bargaining) under Taft-Hartley. She gave me a good web referral about ERISA, also referred me to more people in TDI. Mentioned National Associationof Insurance Commissioners White Paper on ERISA, and the State Mandates Report. Texas Alliance for the Mentally Ill (TEXAMI) 474-2275 1000 E. 7th St Suite 208 78702 This is their old address; they just moved. 3710 Cedar St. Suite 229, off Guadeloupe, one block from Speedway on 38th. 374-9339. Lynn Laskey, their director. lynn@texami.org She was the one person who knew about the recent article on mental health parity in the Austin Statesman, but TEXAMI has not followed its progress, she said they do not have funds. I heard they are in disarray and also just fired half of their staff. Lynn, however, has been there for awhile - and I believe she previously worked on legislation for TEXAMI. Lynn Laskey claimed she is not up on the issue; TEXAMI has no resources to keep track of it, she said. I found this pretty convincing. To date, I've gotten an assurance from her admitting that this is one of NAMI's core issues, after I reminded her of that, and stating that "of course" she has all kinds of information - but I'll believe it when I see her share some of it.
It is important to point out that two years ago, TEXAMI was EXTREMELY active on this, but those particular individuals variously left town, moved up the NAMI career ladder. ONe of them is scheduled to return to live in Austin in June. Also, people think that Lynn Laskey, who hasn't positively impressed me yet, may as the new director have a wish to get with it. But National NAMI has been very active in lobbying for mental health parity. NAMI national MUST have done reports on this problem since 1992. It surprised me (and others when I related it) that this work was done before most of the new state parity laws appeared and the ERISA problem became evident, but NAMI must have been on to it somehow. They have two reports I found cited in a 1993 law review article on mental health parity that was cited in the Texas law code (I'm sure other law review articles I haven't found yet have been written on the problem). I'm sure NAMI has done more since - and Texas's NAMI people just don't know about them - and further wonder why Linda Laskey didn't refer me to these two reports when I specifically asked her what is the problem with the parity law and I understand there is something about ERISA. Was the woman trying to be helpful? Here they are: Anne M. O'Keefe, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Advocating for Insurance Reform: A NAMI Handbook (1991) Special Report: The Health INsurance Crisis in America", NAMI Legislative Network News (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Arlington, VA) Nov. 1991. I couldn't find any reference to either of these two reports on NAMI's extensive web site that appears to include everything they have ever written at all for any reason about anything - but possibly this site doesn't include things written in 1991. I am wondering though, why I can't find anything at all about NAMI Leglative Network News on the web site! Surely they still publish this, or continued to do so more recently than 1991. Either I'm not looking the right way or they don't have this on their web site! They do have some astounding gaps on their web site, such as NO e-mail addresses to contact the national office or anyone in it for any reason whatsoever. Not even the webmaster to report a problem with the site! Also, they just moved their office - which in the case of TEXAMI is one of a number of symptoms that the organization is in disarray. NAMI national toll-free information line; 1-800-950-6264 NAMI national people on parity: Mary Rappaport 703-312-7886 mary@nami.org, (mrappaport@nami.org) She is in charge of media relations and this is why hers and Bob Carolla's numbers are on media releases to do with legislation. Bob Carolla 703-516-7963 Jackie Shannon, executive director or president of the board or something, jshannon@nami.org She said to contact the following people; Clark Ross Clarke@nami.org Director of Policy ____ Ron Honberg RonH@nami.org Director of legal. 703-524-7600. In touch w Susan Dore who shares Clark Ross's e-mail and also SusanDore@aol.com, 207-767-7554. She is in charge of state level lobbying efforts and keeping track of state laws. I'm also supposed to spk w Andrew Sperling, 703-516-7222, andrew@nami.org. He is in charge of federal lobbying. Joe Lovelace former president of TEXAMI, currently 214-324-7420. amidad@aol.com, 799-6294. Moving to Austin in June. NAMI also published "in September" a report card - surveyed 9 of the country's largest managed behavioral health care companies - and they all flunked. The Institute of Medicine issued a report last spring calling on the Federal Government to monitor the quaility of managed behavioral health plans. (See resources page). White House announced on 5/25/99 that they intend to provide full parity in mental health coverage to Federal employees under Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. However, one of the White HOuse's or NAMI's press announcements/ publications on this says it will not take effect until January 2001 - though I gather that actually FEHBP has been implementing parity by steps for years and may in fact be implementing full parity over the course of from June 1999 when the White House issued this policy change to January 2001, as over 500 or something plans are part of this program. I guess noone can count on it in regard to any particular Federal agency or job until January 2001. Advocacy Inc. 7800 Shoal Creek Blvd. off Mopac just south of Anderson 454-4816 They have a way of sending people in circles between their people out of combined wish to be helpful, and unwillingness to admit to what they don't do. It is particularly confusing that two years ago some people there were very involved in lobbying for passage of the mental health parity law. Possibly those people feel they might be branded incompetent if they simply admit that was a passing phase in their lives and they don't do that anymore and their current organization doesn't do that. This was either outside activities for these people who had more than one area of interest, or the organization has shifted in its direction, or both. A number of people in NAMI as well as myself have apparently gone there with health insurance questions and problems and gotten referred in circles without getting answers. I finally learned from someone else at another organization, that the simple truth of it is, they don't do much health insurance and have no knowledge about health insurance matters! They mainly handle problems of disabled people in the system, ie, abused in hospitals, work for access for people with disabilities, and help people with problems with medicaid managed care. In the service of the latter goal, they do educate consumers about medicaid managed care in general as it relates particularly to people with disabilities. People I was referred to or talked to there: "Penny" works or has worked on Disability Policy Consortium Diane Cox ext 311 454-4816 ext 311 most of work on the parity law, I think. dcox@advocacyinc.org She does have an actual interest in mental health parity but due to health problems was out for a long time and only works part time, so she has no current knowledge! Debbie Hiser , an attorney, is not at Advocacy Inc, was on Disability Policy Consortium and did alot of the work on the parity law, said to be one of the most knowledgeable people about it; she is an attorney and now works at "Hilgerson and Watkins" or something, 703-5718, dhiser@hwlaw.com. She said she doesn't do health insurance cases. Also doesn't like to discuss how laws work over the phone, not even to give references. Avril Barrett Markland said she knows some things but Aaryce Hayes and Beth Mitchell are far more knowledgeable. bmarkland@advocacyinc.org. She did call Kim Mchperson and send some of her referrals back to me! Beth prob Mitchell, probably Project Assistant for Health Care Matters. mmitchell@advocacyinc.org, Aaryce Hayes ahayes@advocacyinc.org Susan Murphy is possibly who I first talked to. For assistance with individual problems at Advocacy INc., call Central Texas Intake, which is at the Austin office, at 1-800-315-3876. I need to check on the following report by one of their people; her name is relevant because this particular person generally appeared to be a ditz, and I wouldn't automatically believe a thing she said. BETH MITCHELL SAID THAT ADVOCACY INC HAD TO REQUEST MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE, AFTER 1998, IN THEIR PLAN, THOUGH ADVOCACY INC EMPLOYS MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE. BETH MITCHELL ALSO SAID THAT SHE BELIEVES - THOUGH SHE ISNT SURE - THAT EMPLOYERS/ HEALTH INSURANCE CO'S HAVE TO PROVIDE EMPLOYEES THE OPTION OF PURCHASING MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE BUT TEHY DO NOT HAVE TO PROVIDE THE COVERAGE! (That isn't true, and it is just recognizably similar to how things were SUPPOSED to be but never were, before the passage of the 1997 state law, which Beth Mitchell herself helped lobby for! BETH MITCHELL SAID TO ASK SOMEONE IN TDI FOR THE SOURCES OR STATS ON THE KINDS OF COMPLAINTS THEY ARE GETTING ABOUT PROBLEMS PEOPLE ARE HAVING GETTING MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE OR GETTING THEIR CLAIMS PAID, PARTICULARLY FROM WHERE CAME THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION TO BACK THE AMENDMENT TO THE LAW IN 1999 TO REQUIRE EQUAL CO-PAYS FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE? hOW SPECIFICALLY DO WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WERE GETTING CHARGED MORE? WHO COMPILED THAT INFO OR KEPT TRACK? WHO TOLD THE LEGISLATURE THIS WAS A PROBLEM? (THAT WOULD BE WHO HAS BEEN FOLLOWING HOW THE LAW IS WORKING AND WHAT PROBLEMS PEOPLE ARE STILL HAVING GETTING COVERAGE) BETH MITCHELL ALSO SAID THAT BARRETT MARKLAND WOULD BE WHO SHE WOULD ASK SPECIFICALLY WHO OR WHAT TO TALK TO AT TDI. I CALLED BARRETT MARKLAND, WHO SAID SHE WOULD MAKE SOME CALLS TO FIND OUT. Cindy Liferman 330-0411 private attorney works on insurance cases, has been active in the past on parity, takes cases, appears rather busy with a trial through most of February. Laurie Persons at Office of Public Insurance Counsel I also have an obscure reference to ARCA Texas. Denix Brady of The ARC of Austin testified at one of the hearings on mental health parity. This is an organization for the mentally retarded. Melinda Figelney of Group Health Benefits testified at one of the hearings on the parity law - FOR the bill. Connie Barron of TMA (Texas Medical Association) testifies regularly at hearings on mental health parity. 370-1300 401 W 15th St. Austin. In Legislative Affairs Dept. Spoke to Dave. Today after 4. Susan may be in closest touch w her and her She also has an assistant - I didn't get her name. connie_b@texmed.org, susan_t@texmed.org. I'm told Connie Barron doesn't read much of her e-mail so best to send it to Susan Titsworth. Or else contact through Dolores Camacho-Phillips. Also, I keep getting referred to Dolores and Dave at 1353 and 1357.Delores - delores_c or dolores_c@texmed.org FAIR (Family and Individual Reliance) no longer still exists and Ms. Deese at MHA has taken over their referral function.
My own legislators
Congr District 10 Lloyd Doggett 202-225-4865 328 Cannon House Office Bldg State Sen Distr 14 Sen Gonzalo Barrientos CAP 3E 18 463-0014 House Distr 49 Repr Ellott Naishtat Ext E2.808 463-0668. E- refers to Capitol Extension.
Email me at dorasmith24@hotmail.com
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