Mental Illness Recovery Platform Emphasized At NAMI Annual Legislative Conference, February 5-8, 2000

Mental Illness Recovery Platform Emphasized At NAMI Annual Legislative Conference, February 5-8, 2000

Posted on February 2, 2000

Arlington, VA - The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) will hold its annual legislative conference on February 5-8, 2000, at the Arlington Hilton Hotel, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, VA (703-528-6000). Approximately 200 NAMI leaders from throughout the United States will attend.

Key Issues To Be Discussed:

The Role of Healthcare in Election 2000	The Mental Health Voter Empowerment Project
Child and Adolescent Policy Initiatives	Integrated Treatment for Co-occurring Disorders
Priority Setting at the National Institutes of Health	Approaches to Quality of Care and Accountability
Restraints: Consumer & Family Monitoring Groups	Mental Health Courts
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits	PACT Programs around the Nation
Improvements in Medicaid/The Public Healthcare System	Health Care Financing Administration Agenda

Major Speakers Include:

• Susan Dentzer, health policy correspondent, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS
• Steven Hyman, M.D., director, National Institute of Mental Health
• Ken Steele, founder, The Mental Health Voter Empowerment Project
• Bernie Arons, M.D., director, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Rachel Block, deputy director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Health Care Financing Administration

CONFERENCE AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday, February 6 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.	I Vote I Count 2000: NAMI’s Voter Registration Education Campaign   Piloted in New Hampshire, NAMI will launch this grassroots effort nationally to put mental illness issues on the radar screens of all major political candidates. Rona Purdy, chair, NAMI's Campaign to End Discrimination Ken Steele, founder, The Mental Health Voter Empowerment Project
Monday, February 7 8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.	The Role of Healthcare in Election 2000 Susan Dentzer, health policy correspondent, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS
Monday, February 7 1:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.	Priority Setting at the National Institutes of Health Steven Hyman, M.D., director, National Institute of Mental Health
Monday, February 7 2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.	Improvements in Medicaid and the Public Mental Healthcare System Bernie Arons, M.D., director, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Monday, February 7 2:15 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.	Health Care Financing Administration's Agenda Rachel Block, deputy director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Health Care Financing Administration
Monday, February 7 3:10 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.	Child and Adolescent Policy Initiatives Panel of NAMI state leadership