1041 results for author: Mental Health Colorado
Hill Day: Meet Your Legislator
On February 2nd, Mental Health Colorado and constituents from the Front Range met with legislators at the Capitol to go over our priorities this session.
Almost 100 constituents joined us for a workshop to learn about the different mental health issues coming up this session, then walked across the street to the Capitol for face-to-face time with their state representative or state senator. They shared their stories and explained why mental health issues matter to them.
We want to thank everyone who came to learn, lobby, and leave a lasting impact at the Capitol. Your voices help to make mental health a priority in Colorado.
We also ...
How’s it working?
Mental health parity.
It’s not just a good idea. It’s the law.
Parity requires most insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental and physical care. That means insurers cannot impose more restrictions on mental health or substance use treatment than on other medical services.
How’s the law working? That’s what we’d like to know.
Please take a moment to complete this brief, confidential survey. Tell us if you, a family member, or a patient has ever been denied reimbursement or care.
By the way, if you have concerns about private insurance coverage, contact the Division of Insurance. For questions about Medicaid, ...
Behind bars
“I run the largest mental health facility in Boulder County,” Joe Pelle told an audience near the State Capitol yesterday. “It’s called the county jail.”
Sheriff Pelle is not alone. An estimated two-thirds of the inmates in America’s jails have a mental health disorder.
Some of those behind bars face no charges at all. They’re taken into custody because they experience a mental health crisis, pose an imminent danger to themselves or others, and have nowhere else to go.
Is this the best we can do, Dave? Not by a long shot.
We’re urging state lawmakers to stop using jails for mental health holds, to provide more appropriate ...
How do we preserve mental health care as an essential benefit?
By Andrew Romanoff, Guest Commentary
What can we agree on?
That’s a question worth asking, as a new herd of lawmakers gathers in Denver and Washington. Last year’s elections probably convinced many Americans that the answer is “almost nothing at all.”
Not so fast.
While the presidential race proved to be one of the most divisive in recent memory, a few signs of consensus emerged in Colorado. The subject: mental health.
In August, our nonpartisan organization asked every candidate for the Colorado General Assembly where they stood on the prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Nearly 50 percent of ...
Lights! Camera! Legislation!
What happens when you put 100 people in one building for 120 days?
We’re about to find out. The General Assembly began its work on Wednesday, January 11th, swearing in a new cast of state lawmakers.
Who are they? How will they vote? And what can you do, as a constituent, to influence their decisions?
Join us on Thursday, Feb. 2 for Mental Health Colorado’s Hill Day. We’ll start the morning with a dynamic round of advocacy training, then walk over to the State Capitol to meet our representatives and senators.
You’ll learn about some of the most important issues in this year’s legislative session -- and how can you make a differe...
Colorado must stop using jails for people in mental health crisis, panel says
By JENNIFER BROWN | jbrown@denverpost.com
PUBLISHED: January 4, 2017 at 5:20 pm | UPDATED: January 5, 2017 at 1:00 am
Colorado should stop using jails to house people placed on involuntary mental health holds who haven’t been charged with a crime, says a task force created by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
The state is one of only six that still put people having a mental health episode behind bars.
The 30-member panel, ordered by Hickenlooper after he vetoed a bill in June that would have strengthened Colorado’s 72-hour mental health hold law, acknowledged rural communities without hospitals or mental health centers would have the ...
Replacing the Affordable Care Act
Trust us.
That’s what some members of Congress are telling their constituents -- by vowing to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a plan to replace it. We’d rather not.
This week Mental Health Colorado joined a coalition of more than 100 organizations across the state in an urgent plea to our Congressional delegation: craft a new plan first. Repealing the current law and postponing its replacement would only create, in the coalition’s words, “uncertainty and chaos.”
Where do you stand? Contact your representative and senators to let them know.
At Mental Health Colorado, we share an interest in expanding access, improving ...
Mental health group looks to solve issues
By Crystal Nelson
Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 3:29 pm
Officials at Mental Health Colorado came to Brighton on Wednesday, Dec. 7, to find out what residents here need in terms of mental health programs.
The state nonprofit group found that area residents want more access to mental health care and lower insurance deductibles for care. The group held meetings throughout the state in recent weeks, hearing from residents in Fort Collins and Grand Junction, Pueblo and Aurora, among others.
“Most of the folks who join our conversation are not satisfied with their access to mental health care for a number of reasons, including the cost ...
