Take Part in National Call-In Day For People With Mental Illnesses on Wednesday March 19, 2003

The Bazelon Center Mental Health Policy Reporter Bush Medicaid Proposal Threatens Access to Healthcare (2/20/03) Support the Bazelon Center. Your tax-deductible donation helps the Bazelon Center keep you informed on important developments in mental health law and policy. Not a Subscriber? Sign up now to receive action alerts and updates from the Bazelon Center.

The President's tax and Medicaid plans will put people who have mental illnesses at risk by starving a mental health system that is already in fiscal crisis.

The President's Tax and Medicaid "Reform" Proposals Must Be Stopped! The Bazelon Center for Mental health Law urges everyone who cares about people with mental illnesses to call their U.S. Senators and Representatives on Wednesday, March 19th.

Last year, the President expressed concern that many people now fall through the cracks of the mental health system. Those cracks have widened as states across the country face record budget deficits and cuts in funding for mental health services. Fiscal relief for the states is an answer, but the President opposes bipartisan congressional efforts to give states that help. Instead he is promoting "block-granting" the Medicaid program and passing huge tax cuts - policies that will inevitably leave millions of low-income people without needed mental health care.

• Block-granting Medicaid means federal funding for this vital safety-net program - that now provides half of all state andlocal mental health spending - will be arbitrarily capped, and states will be encouraged to cut benefits and services. People who have mental illnesses and rely on Medicaid are at risk.
• The proposed $1.5 trillion tax cut would profoundly shrink the federal government's capacity to meet mental health and social service needs as they are forced to compete with other spending priorities.
  

Take Action

On Wednesday, March 19th, call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask for your U.S. Senators and Representatives, and urge them to:

• Vote "NO" on the Bush administration's plan to block-grant the Medicaid program.
• Vote "NO" on the Bush administration's plan to pass a $1.5 trillion tax cut.
• Support providing federal fiscal relief to the states to meet pressing mental health needs.
• Support increased federal funding for mental health programs through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Grassroots support is critical. Please encourage your family, friends and coworkers to call on, too.