Tuesday, September 23, 2014

As Mentally Ill Fall Through Net, Insurers Asked to Take Up Slack

MANAGED CARE September 2014. © MediMedia USA
Innovative government projects might point the way toward how plans can save money while addressing a growing public policy concern
Joseph Burns
Contributing Editor

Quoted by Andrew Sperling (NAMI):
"The other program would establish a four-year initiative to award as many as 50 grants each year to entities establishing assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs for people with serious mental illness. Congress authorized spending $60 million for four years, beginning next year.
Andrew Sperling, JD“This provision would be for people at the severe end of the spectrum who don’t come voluntarily to services and who might need court-ordered treatment,” says Sperling. “It’s a pilot AOT program for patients with severe mental illness. There are laws in 45 states that require such treatment, but many of those states don’t require AOT, which is for people who have failed to engage in treatment. This is not about putting people into institutions. It’s about mandatory treatment in the community.” Read more here: http://www.managedcaremag.com/archives/2014/9/mentally-ill-fall-through-net-insurers-asked-take-slack