According to a Mental Health America email I received this morning,
[...] the Senate sweepingly adopted a bill that will halt long-threatened cuts to Medicaid mental health services. The Senate action blocking implementation of harmful Medicaid regulations came on the heels of House approval of a supplemental funding bill that included the regulation moratorium. Despite earlier veto threats, the President signed this legislation into law on Monday, June 30th.
I added the bold.
This is just more proof that our efforts do pay off, so the next time you get an advocacy alert to send a quick email to your representatives about something …read more

From the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Action Alert I received last night:
We are delighted to announce that the Senate and the House negotiators have reached a historic agreement on the Mental Health Parity compromise bill. Since early March, when the Senate passed its own version of the bill, S. 558, the House and Senate have been engaged in intense negotiations to reconcile differences between the two bills. (The House bill, H.R. 1424 – passed in early March).
Now the bill must go for one more, final vote in both chambers and then goes to the President for his signature.
You are …read more

Aaaaahahahahahaha!
My Internet buddy and fellow buster of stigma Chato B. Stewart is a seriously talented mental health cartoonist, and he’s cracked me up again. Check out Chato’s newest mental health cartoon in his blog post Support: Cartoon-A-Thon By: Chato B. Stewart For Mental Health Month.
While you’re there, make yourself comfortable. In addition to his Web site, Mental Health Humor, Chato’s just recently started blogging at mentalhealthumor.today.com.

Image: Newscom
Remember! You have until May 31, 2008 to enter the Mental Health Notes Birthday Giveaway, and forever to join the This Is Why I ROCK! series!

The House of Representatives and the Senate have both passed their versions of Mental Health Parity (H.R. 1424 and S. 558, respectively); however, in a recent Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) Advocacy Alert, we’re reminded that the battle for Mental Health Parity isn’t quite finished, especially given the limited number of legislative days the House and the Senate have to come up with and agree on Mental Health Parity law that will benefit us all.
After seven years and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, victory is finally within reach. We are so close to the enactment of Mental …read more

Here at Mental Health Notes and b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, it’s become the trend for every week to feel just as busy – if not busier – than the last. I love it, mind you. I just think I need to sit down and seriously re-evaluate my current system of organization.
Anyway, on to what went on this week in the world of mental health!

Here at Mental Health Notes, I was all over the place. From sharing a few thoughts about LiveJournal to reviewing Google’s top five results for “brain games” to offering resources for help with cyberbullies in light …read more