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The State Legislature is considering whether to put the Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63) before voters to divert funding away from effective community mental health services in order to help address the state’s budget deficit in 2010–11. Read more »

Medi-Cal Clinical Documentation and Treatment Planning

with Stan Taubman, Ph.D., LCSW

Friday, January 22, 2010
1:30 – 4:45 PM
Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CA

Program description and registration form on Events page

Be sure to check out this link. It represents the work of Suzanne White and her effort to collaborate with NAMI on a Wellness Initiative for persons with serious and persistent mental illness. It includes resources that OTs in any state could use to promote health and wellness and collaboration.

• http://www.downstate.edu/CHRP/ot/nami.html

The US Congress did pass the mental health parity bill. AOTA has an author on a bill at the federal level to make occupational therapy a lead in opening cases in the home health context.

OTAC was able to get Blue Cross to reverse reimbursement reductions last spring (2008) after they initially proposed 50% or more reductions in reimbursement for OT services. After OTAC met with the Blue Cross executives, they permanently reversed the reimbursement reductions. These successes support the notion that advocacy works.

OTAC is presently working with the group Autism Speaks to get a bill authored that will cover OT services to children with autism and Governor Schwarzenegger has called a special session for after the elections to solve the continued budget crisis. The Legislature is required to respond to this call and plans to convene either Friday, November 7 or Monday, November 10. The Governor estimates that the budget deficit is between $5 and $8 billion, while legislative leaders are estimating it could be as high as $10 billion.

—Jane Dressler, J.D., OTR/L

A little good news — this is a reasonable and sympathetic person and a healthcare professional…

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