Governor Dean Unveils His Vision for Mental Health Care in America

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Governor Dean Unveils His Vision for Mental Health Care in America

Policy Address Focuses On Early Treatment, Integration With Other Services

(The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill put out a statement this morning praising the Governor's policy proposals.)

MANCHESTER--Speaking at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Governor Howard Dean, M.D., presented his vision for mental health care in America. Governor Dean’s mental health policy will focus on programs that are cost effective and emphasize early, innovative treatment.

“As a physician, I have a special appreciation for the devastating effect of mental illness on individuals and families,” Governor Dean said. “Over eleven million adults in this country live with a serious mental illness and three million children suffer from a severe emotional disturbance. Yet, the public mental health system is in shambles and the federal government does too little to help.

“As President, I will seek real solutions to improve mental health care in this country. I will invest in programs that treat mental health problems early, preventing people with serious mental illness from ending up in hospitals or jails. I will invest in programs that integrate mental health treatment with social services that address unemployment, homelessness, and drug addiction. I will also invest in programs that address the unique needs of children and that reduce the public stigma sometimes associated with mental illness.”

Under Governor Dean’s leadership, Vermont became a national model for effective mental health care. In 1997, Governor Dean signed into law Vermont’s parity law, which requires insurance companies to treat mental and physical illnesses the same. Vermont’s pioneering parity law is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive in the nation, and, in 1998, Governor Dean received the Schorr Family Award for Distinguished Contribution in Mental Health.

Ken Libertoff, Executive Director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health, said, “I worked closely with Governor Dean for years on mental health parity in Vermont. He was a leader on this issue before it was popular. He understood that the lack of parity was discriminatory and fostered stigma and inappropriate treatment.”

(The full text of the governor’s speech, including his specific policy recommendations and information on his record on mental health, is available at www.deanforamerica.com.)

[Cha]

1. A kick for all of us to have Good "Mental Health" & and a kick

for Dr. Dean to help our Nation get there! :kick: :kick: