News Clips
BILL AIMS TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH HELP, ACCOUNTABILITY
By: J. Adrian Stanley, The Colorado Independent
Those seeking mental health care in Colorado should have a lot working in their favor. Laws require insurance carriers to provide an adequate number of providers and supply equal coverage for mental and physical health care. And in Colorado, state rules dictate that a person seeking non-emergency mental health care is required to be provided care within seven days.
Yet, a December 2017 report from Milliman Research found that Coloradans go out of network for mental health care around seven times as often as they do for ...
PENDING LEGISLATION WOULD ENSURE CHILDREN CAN ACCESS MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT
By: Jena Hausmann, Andrew Romanoff
What would you do if you had to give up your child in order to access mental health services? For some Coloradans, this is a reality.
Colorado ranked 48th in the country for overall youth mental health, according to Mental Health America’s 2018 “The State of Mental Health in America” report. This same report estimates that more than 13 percent of Colorado teens ages 12-17 have had at least one major depressive episode in the last year. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Coloradans aged 10-24, according to the ...
COLORADO’S GOVERNOR, DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS WANT TO ALLOW JUDGES TO SEIZE GUNS FROM PEOPLE IN CRISIS. NOW THEY NEED GOP SUPPORT.
“Red flag” bills have passed in several states, including Florida, where the legislature is GOP-controlled
By: Jesse Paul and John Frank, The Denver Post
A series of recent fatal shootings in Colorado and nationwide is leading Gov. John Hickenlooper and state Democratic lawmakers to push for a “red flag law” that would allow judges to temporarily seize guns from people they consider to be a threat. The late effort is part of a nationwide discussion about the intersection of mental health and the Second Amendment after the February massacre at a South Florida ...
DENVER BALLOT INITIATIVE AIMS TO FINANCE MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAMS
By: John Daley, CPR News
A ballot initiative in Denver could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year to help those with mental health and substance disorder issues.
State lawmaker Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat, is spearheading the "Caring 4 Denver" campaign. She says the proposal makes financial sense because if it’s passed by voters it could fund a variety of mental health programs. The proposal calls for a one-quarter of 1 percent sales tax -- that's 25 cents on a $100 purchase.
"We know that if people who suffer from a mental health ...
COLORADO BILL WOULD HELP PEOPLE NAVIGATE INSURANCE SYSTEM
By: Jaclyn Allen, Denver7
Story originally aired on Denver7.
ROMANOFF: COMMON GROUND ON MENTAL HEALTH IS POSSIBLE
The Greeley TribuneAndrew Romanoff
Guest columnist
Put six Republicans and three Democrats on the same stage and you might not expect them to agree on anything. When it comes to improving mental health care, however, you can find common ground.
Nine candidates shared a stage this past week at Mental Health Colorado's first gubernatorial forum. The consensus: We ought to make it harder for people who pose a danger to themselves or others to get guns, and easier for them to get treatment.
Those are two of the top priorities we're ...
CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR WEIGH IN ON HOT BUTTON ISSUES IN “THE STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH” FORUM
DENVER – The candidates for governor stepped up and addressed some tough mental health policy issues at Mental Health Colorado’s gubernatorial forum on Friday, March 23.
Four hundred people and nine candidates attended the event. The candidates included: Stephen Barlock (R), Cynthia Coffman (R), Lew Gaiter (R), Mike Johnston (D), Greg Lopez (R), Donna Lynne (D), Vic Mitchell (R), Doug Robinson (R), and Erik Underwood (D).
Former State Treasurer Cary Kennedy (D) was slated to attend but was sick. And U.S. Congressman Jared Polis (D) was stuck in ...
NONPROFIT PUSHES FOR BILLS STRENGTHENING MENTAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS
With just weeks left for state lawmakers to pass any new laws, Mental Health Colorado has two proposals they want considered.
Story first appeared on Denver7.
COMMUNITY GROUPS, SCHOOLS MEET TO STRENGTHEN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
By: Tris DeRoma — The Los Alamos Monitor Online
Many of Los Alamos County’s leading nonprofits and organizations, including United Way of Northern New Mexico, Self Help Inc, the Los Alamos Public Schools and others spent time last week seeking ways to build a stronger network of behavioral health services in Los Alamos County.
The group listened to a presentation March 15 given by a special guest speaker from Colorado who formed a mental health advocacy organization.
The next morning, the group held a roundtable discussion about how they as a group could ...
GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES TALK MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE AT BIPARTISAN FORUM
Watch full event or four-minute recap
By: Ernest Luning — Colorado Politics
DENVER — A stage full of gubernatorial candidates agreed on the importance of addressing issues surrounding mental health and substance abuse, but some differed sharply on their approaches at a bipartisan forum devoted to the topics on Friday in Denver.“This issue is literally a matter of life and death,” said Andrew Romanoff, president of Mental Health Colorado, the forum’s sponsor. “We have a lot of work to do. I hope the pace of our work matches the urgency of this missio...
