<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Statement by Laurie M. Flynn, Executive Director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)</span></p> <p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">NAMI applauds Surgeon General David Satcher for recognizing the epidemic proportions suicide has reached and for announcing plans to develop the National Suicide Prevention Strategy our nation so desperately needs. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill is urging the Illinois senate to help bring an end to discrimination against people with mental illness and pass House Bill 111 currently being held in the Senate Rules Committee. </span></p>
<p> </p> <p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) today praised Georgia Governor, Zell Miller and state lawmakers for standing up to stigma and ending insurance discrimination against people with severe mental illnesses.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">The Massachusetts Senate rectified a great wrong on April 2nd by passing S-1877, "An Act Relative to Certain Health Care Benefits."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">The New Jersey Senate rectified a great wrong on March 30th by passing S-86, "An Act Concerning Health Insurance Benefits for Mental Health."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">NAMI applauds the bipartisan leadership of Representatives Marge Roukema (R-NJ), Connie Morella (R-MD), Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Bob Wise (D-WV) in working to provide equal health insurance for people with severe mental illnesses. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">In response to the alarming results of a landmark study which reveals that more than half of individuals with schizophrenia receive inadequate care, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) today released new treatment guidelines for this vulnerable population.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) today rallied behind a new national campaign to double federal funding for biomedical research before 2000.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) today praised South Dakota Governor, William J. Janklow and state lawmakers for standing up to stigma and ending insurance discrimination against people with severe mental illnesses.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(53, 53, 53); font-family: ProximaNova-Regular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">With the federal Mental Health Parity Act ushering in a new era in insurance coverage for persons with severe mental illness, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill released today its new </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: 1000000px; color: rgb(53, 53, 53); font-family: ProximaNova-Regular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; max-height: 1000000px;">NAMI Equal Coverage Kit</b></i><span style="color: rgb(53, 53, 53); font-family: ProximaNova-Regular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> to help families understand how this modest anti-discrimination law may help them get essential medical treatment.</span></p>
NAMI HelpLine is available M-F, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET. Call 800-950-6264,
text “helpline” to 62640, or chat online. In a crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).
