NAMI North Texas, NAMI Southern Sector Dallas, NAMI Grayson, Fannin & Cooke, NAMI Kaufman County, NAMI Tarrant County, and NAMI Texas of North Central Region
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NAMI Texas #Vote4MentalHealth Region 2 Candidate Questionnaire For NAMI North Texas, NAMI Southern Sector Dallas, NAMI Grayson, Fannin & Cooke, NAMI Kaufman County, NAMI Tarrant County, and NAMI Texas of North Central Region The candidates were asked the following open-ended questions: 1. Texas is experiencing a shortage of mental health and addiction care providers, especially in rural and underserved areas. How will you make sure more people have access to mental health treatment and services? 2. State and federal law requires mental health parity, or the equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance During February 2020 and September-October 2020, NAMI use disorders, compared to physical health conditions, in Texas’ Public Policy Team and our volunteers sent out a six- insurance plans. However, individuals in Texas still often question mental health policy questionnaire via Google Forms to receive unequal coverage for mental health treatment and every individual running for a state legislative seat in a contested services. What will you do to improve coverage for race. Candidates were also provided information on NAMI Texas’ mental health care? public policy platform. We are only sharing the results for 3. At least 30% of individuals in local Texas jails have a candidates who are in a contested race. If we have not received a severe mental illness, and more than half of justice- completed questionnaire from a candidate, we will indicate that we involved individuals nationwide have at least one mental have not received a response yet. Reminders were sent on a weekly health condition. What will you do to divert people with basis to candidates who had not yet responded to the mental illness from the criminal justice system? questionnaire. 4. Almost a quarter of individuals experiencing homelessness have a severe mental illness, and mental NAMI Texas is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit illness has been identified as the third leading cause of organization. We DO NOT endorse any candidates, or rank or alter homelessness nationwide. How will you help people with their answers in any way. We provide this information to educate mental illness who are struggling with housing? you on where candidates in your district stand on key mental 5. Half of mental health conditions begin by the age of 14 health issues and let you use this information to inform your vote and 75% begin by the age of 24, but these issues often go on November 3rd. A candidate’s inclusion of answers here does not undetected and untreated until they reach a crisis point. indicate a preference or endorsement by NAMI Texas. Inclusion in How will you promote earlier intervention for people this guide does not indicate that NAMI Texas endorses any experiencing mental illness? candidate's positions provided in the questionnaire. We encourage 6. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country and NAMI members and mental health advocates to continue asking has faced serious challenges in ensuring individuals in important questions of legislative and local candidates and underserved areas have access to health care. What will #Vote4MentalHealth! More information on the you do to improve access to health care and reduce our #Vote4MentalHealth campaign can be found at high uninsured rate? namitexas.org/vote4mentalhealth-texas. NAMI Texas #Vote4MentalHealth Region 2 Candidate Questionnaire For NAMI North Texas, NAMI Southern Sector Dallas, NAMI Grayson, Fannin & Cooke, NAMI Kaufman County, NAMI Tarrant County, and NAMI Texas of North Central Region Senate District 1 show promising results, and I would work to expand access to Bryan Hughes (R, Incumbent) creative solutions like that as a member of the legislature. Bryan Hughes has not responded to the questionnaire yet. 4. Housing: We need to prioritize affordable housing options for Texans all over the state. This should include supportive housing, Audrey Spanko (D) but even access to affordable housing without extra services is 1. System Capacity: Medicaid expansion will play an important necessary to curbing homelessness in Texas. Additionally, it will role in increasing access to mental health services, as it will bring be important to ensure that people experiencing homelessness also coverage to over 40,000 East Texans, many of whom live in rural have access to quality mental and physical health services. areas. Especially during a pandemic, we need to work to expand 5. Early Intervention: In order to ensure Texans can access the use of Telehealth services; however, for rural Texans these mental health services before they reach a crisis point, we should services have proved critical, and it will be necessary to continue encourage mental health screenings to begin at a younger age. One the expansion of Telehealth, even when we are no longer facing a way we can accomplish this is increasing the number of school global pandemic. social workers across the state, this would allow public school 2. Mental Health Coverage/Parity: For too long, the legislature students access to a mental health professional whenever they are has allowed health insurance companies to go unchecked. We on campus. should focus our efforts on holding these for profit companies 6. Access to Health Care: Senate district 1 is currently home to accountable, so Texans can attain necessary mental health 134,000 individuals without health insurance and has the highest coverage, in addition to the physical health coverage they are infant mortality rate in the state. I plan to fight for Medicaid receiving. We should also work to increase Medicaid expansion. Over 42,000 uninsured individuals in Senate District 1 reimbursement, making it more competitive with Medicare rates. would gain medical coverage if Texas expanded Medicaid. This would incentivize health care workers to improve and expand Expanded coverage also means women and children will have the the services they provide. coverage they need to seek life-saving medical services. Over the 3. Criminal Justice: This is a part of a broad and necessary last nine years four rural hospitals have closed in District 1. discussion of reimagining our criminal justice system. In order to Expanding coverage and insurance could help save other hospitals truly provide justice, we need to provide services to individuals, at risk of closing. even before they become justice-involved. First of all, expanded Medicaid will bring coverage to thousands of Texans who may be Senate District 12 suffering from a mental illness that would otherwise go untreated Jane Nelson (R, Incumbent) and potentially could lead them to involvement with our broken Jane Nelson has not responded to the questionnaire yet. criminal justice system. Additionally, mental health resources in Texas need to be accessible to all Texans, not just to those who can pay top dollar. Other ideas, like supportive housing programs, also NAMI Texas #Vote4MentalHealth Region 2 Candidate Questionnaire For NAMI North Texas, NAMI Southern Sector Dallas, NAMI Grayson, Fannin & Cooke, NAMI Kaufman County, NAMI Tarrant County, and NAMI Texas of North Central Region Shadi Zitoon (D) Senate District 22 1. System Capacity: First, we have to expand Medicaid. So many Brian Birdwell (R, Incumbent) areas were left without any adequate healthcare due to the lack of Brian Birdwell has not responded to the questionnaire yet. expansion. We also need incentives to encourage healthcare professionals to move and provide service to rural communities. Robert Vick (D) 2. Mental Health Coverage/Parity: We have to acknowledge that 1. System Capacity: Nine of the ten Counties that make up Senate mental healthcare is healthcare and to work on removing the District 22 are rural so this issue is of utmost important to my stigma associated with it. A large part of that is education and constituents. The State Legislature can do several things. First, teaching about mental care. We should be teaching about mental expand Medicaid, Texas is now only one of twelve States that has healthcare in school to increase the public knowledge. not. Providing health care to 1.6 million Texans will help mitigate 3. Criminal Justice: We need to have options for our law the impact of poverty, unhealthy life-style choices, economic enforcement. Our prison and jails are one of the largest providers uncertainty, and will improve the physical, emotional and mental of healthcare in the state. We need to have addicts getting help health of those most in need. Second, increase Medicaid from people who are specialized in addiction treatment and mental reimbursements to increase more medical provider participation, health professionals treating people with mental health issues. including peer to peer support services. Third, grant APRNs full 4. Housing: Medicaid expansion would provide coverage for those practice authority to reduce the shortage of "authorized" medical individuals to ensure they can get the treatment they need. We also professionals. Forth, increase funding and support for mental need to create more programs to help those people without a home, health evaluation and treatment services available to schools. Fifth, One thing we can do is increase the minimum wage to a livable develop and fund proven successful group, peer, maternal, wage so they can afford to house themselves. Also, we need to do provider and family support programs. more to encourage the development of affordable housing. 2. Mental Health Coverage/Parity: A major hindrance to 5. Early Intervention: In school, we should be teaching about reaching parity is our failure to expand Medicaid. Rural hospitals mental health as well as physical health. This would help many are closing at an alarming rate in Texas, 21 in the last decade. people know the signs to look for in loved ones or themselves More than 75% of Texas rural hospitals are hanging on by a before it gets to a crisis point, in addition to the expansion of thread.