NAMI Minnesota Legislative Update s1

NAMI Minnesota Legislative Update July 9, 2017

MN Delegation has Successful Day on the Hill for National Convention

NAMI members with Senator Franken Last week, NAMI Minnesota members traveled to Washington DC for the NAMI national convention. In addition to attending seminars and meeting members from across the country, our delegation had a very successful day on the Hill. We were able to schedule meetings with the staff for Senator Klobuchar, Congressman Paulsen, Congressman Peterson, Congressman Lewis and Congressman Ellison. We were also able to meet personally with Senator Franken, Congressman Walz, Congresswoman McCollum and Congressman Emmer! During these meetings, we were able to discuss the importance of Medicaid and the significant problems with the AHCA and the BCRA.

NAMI Members with Congressman Emmer A big thank you to all the NAMI Minnesota members that attended the National Convention and made our day on the Hill a big success!

Affordable Health Care Act & Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 Despite a delay to the Senate vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), NAMI is still very concerned that this bill or something like it will pass. That would mean the erosion of the essential health benefits that guarantee coverage for mental health and substance use disorder, not to mention the dismantling of Medicaid through per-capita caps or state block grants. Learn more about the status of the BCRA here. The CBO came out with another report on the bill stating that Medicaid is estimated to see a 26% reduction in its federal funding by 2026 and a 35% reduction by 2036, a rate that is likely unsustainable for every state in the nation. Around 22 million people would lose their insurance.

One provision in the bill exempts what's called the IMD exclusion for up to 30 days and 90 days in a year. The IMD exclusion prevents Medicaid funding for any facility over 16 beds where the majority of people are being treated for a mental illness or substance use disorder. In some states acute care is only provided in state run institutions. In Minnesota our acute care is provided in community hospitals so this provision won't help us. Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center is impacted by the IMD exclusion but the stays there are longer than 30 days so Medicaid still won't be able to be used. This provision will more likely help substance use disorder treatment facilities. Read more here.

Some additional news on this topic can be found on the National Council's page. DHS Commissioner Piper also released some information this week on the impact of the bill to Minnesota. Read her letter, and fact sheets.

We are counting on you to reach out to your representatives in congress. Once you've done that, the next step is to reach out to your friends and family members whose Senators are still on the fence on BCRA. Right now, the key states are Maine, Alaska, Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, Kansas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. You can find more information and talking points here.

NAMI Volunteers join This is Medicaid for Phone Bank NAMI Minnesota is a member of the This is Medicaid coalition. View a great article and the video here. NAMI members joined a coalition of volunteers that made over 5,0000 calls that encouraged 87 Arizonans to leave a message at the DC office of Senator Flake. If you are interested doing your part to stop the BCRA, contact Sam Smith and you can join our team next Tuesday and Wednesday as we make more calls.

We wont be able to protect Medicaid and protections for pre-existing conditions like mental illness unless we all work together and do our part. Thank you for being a part of this movement and doing what you can to stand up for people living with mental illness and their families.

NAMI Minnesota attends Congressman Ellison's press conference to talk about the negative impact of the bills on Minnesotans.

Governor Arne Carlson Hosting Event on Medicaid Former Governor Arne Carlson and the This is Medicaid Coalition are holding another town hall in Minnetonka at 6:30 PM on July 13th to discuss the importance of Medicaid and the need to stop the passage of the AHCA and the BCRA. The Former Governor will be joined by Julie Sjordal, who is the CEO at the St. Davids Center. Together they will discuss how current legislation in DC could end Medicaid as we know it, affecting millions of people in Minnesota and across the country.

Whether you're ready to start getting involved or would just like to learn a little bit more about how Medicaid affects people like yourself, NAMI would strongly encourage you to attend this upcoming event on July 13th from 6:30 - 7:45 PM at the Opportunity Partners building on 5500 Opportunity Court in Minnetonka. You can learn more through this flyer.

If you are attending, you are asked but not required to RSVP here

Gov's Council on Law Enforcement and Community Relations Following the tragic deaths of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile, Governor Dayton created the Council on Law Enforcement and Community Relations. This group was meant to connect local stakeholders, advocates, and law enforcement leaders to come together and develop policy recommendations for law enforcement to better serve communities of color.

The council released their preliminary recommendations for the review by the legislature. Key recommendations included:  Data collection and new recruiting programs to attract and retain law enforcement officers of color.  Diversity and implicit bias training for current police officers.  Data collection on the racial and ethnic breakdown of the number of stops and number of civilians injured by law enforcement in Minnesota  Mental health and crisis response training for all officers  Increase funding for community policing and ensure that building community relations is factored into performance review for police officers. Due to concerns that community members were not adequately involved in the work of the council, the final report has been delayed for 90 days to get additional input from Minnesotans. The council will meet at the capitol from 4-6 PM on July 18th, July 25th, August 8th, and August 15th. If you are interested in attending, you can find more information here.

House Parties Coming Up The 2017 session may be over, but it's never too soon to start preparing for next year. This fall, we are counting on NAMI advocates from across the state to meet with their local state legislators. This is a great chance to get to know your elected officials in an intimate setting, share your personal story, and communicate what NAMI's legislative priorities are for the 2018 session.

While we are eager to have as many house parties as possible, there are some legislative districts that we are prioritizing. Please reach out to us if you live in the following communities:  SD 9: Little Falls  SD 11: Moose Lake  SD 14: St. Cloud  SD 18: Grove City  SD 22: Luverne  SD 23: Fairmont  SD 25: Rochester  SD 36: Rochester  SD 31: Ham Lake  SD 34: Maple Grove  SD 35: Ramsey  SD 36: Brooklyn Park  SD 38: Dellwood  SD 46: St. Louis Park  SD 48: Eden Prairie  SD 62: Minneapolis  SD 64: St. Paul You can find out who your representative is here!

These events are short in length (typically 60 to 90 minutes) and can be held at home, in a library, or at a coffee shop in your legislative district. If you are interested in organizing or participating in a house party, please contact Sam Smith and we can get the party started.

We Need Your Input! There are a several problems with the civil commitment law in Minnesota, but this system is so complex and interconnected that all the stakeholders need to be at the table before changes are made. Even though legislation calling for a task force did not advance this session, NAMI is moving forward anyway and pulling together stakeholders into a task force to discuss what changes are needed to the civil commitment law.

In preparation for this upcoming civil commitment task force, we are asking NAMI members to share their thoughts on improvements and reforms to the civil commitment law in Minnesota. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this survey! Click here for the commitment survey!

Updates from NAMI Minnesota NAMI Legislative Committee Meetings are generally held the second Tuesday of every month at 6 pm at the NAMI Minnesota office. This Tuesday, July 11th we will learn more about the new Community Behavioral Health Centers. To be added to the email list contact [email protected]. Stay Connected

NAMI Minnesota | 800 Transfer Road, Suite 31 | St. Paul, MN 55114 [email protected]| http://www.namihelps.org 651-645-2948 | 1-888-NAMI-HELPS