Remarks by
A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed.
Director
Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
2007 SAMHSA/CMS Invitational Conference on Medicaid and Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services
September 27, 2007
Baltimore, MD
Opening Remarks
{Note: Jeff Buck is scheduled to introduce Ms. Power}
Good morning and welcome to this 5th annual conference, hosted by SAMHSA and CMS. It is exciting to stand here and look out at individuals who I am proud to call my colleagues and friends. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be here with all of you.
Henry Ford once said, "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." When we first came together 5 years ago, we were at the beginning of a journey that demanded that we work together. Collaborating across our different fields and agencies was the most effective way for us to achieve success. Over the years, this summit has provided wonderful opportunities for us to expand our horizons, to understand the different perspectives that we hold, and to re-energize ourselves for the work that we do.
But, what excites me most about this annual forum is that it gives us an opportunity to together bring our knowledge, our experiences, and all of the resources at our disposal to better serve the health needs of citizens of this country. It presents a roundtable where State Medicaid directors, State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Commissioners, Federal agencies, advocacy organizations, consumers, behavioral health researchers, and other state and local mental health and substance abuse representatives come together, sit down, and share our lessons learned, our great successes, and our hope for the future. Through our discussion at this summit, we are able to transform our individual energies into a collaborative force.
Over the last five years, our combined efforts have led to a synergy that has produced great results. Working in collaboration with one another, we have
- Compiled comprehensive statistics on Medicaid mental health services for all 50 States.
- Developed profiles of Medicaid mental health services in all State Medicaid programs, including managed care.
- Created technical assistance papers that publicize examples of best and promising State practices.
- Conducted a national study of how States administer the Pre-admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) program.
- Developed and assessed a State program to improve the maintenance and availability of Medicaid eligibility for institutional residents returning to the community.
These are important achievements! They are the results of the hard work, intense efforts, and dogged determination of consumers, providers, stakeholders, and leaders from across the country. Many of the people in this room have been involved in these important changes. I salute you for your incredible work and encourage you to keep moving forward.
Just last week, the United States Senate unanimously passed the Mental Health Parity Act. This significant piece of legislation requires employers who have more than 50 employees and who offer health plans to provide mental health and addiction benefits that are no more restrictive than physical health benefits. This act reinforces the message we’ve been advocating for years—that mental health is just as important as physical health.
It reminded me of a wonderful passage in the book, Vision, Values & Courage: “Haven’t you ever experienced that moment when the veil of the present was lifted, revealing with stunning clarity a picture of the future state that made you think, ‘Yes, that’s how it should be.’ From this we realize that many men and women have formulated visions. Not all of these individuals however have acted on those visions, and fewer still have seen their visions become reality.”
This summit is an opportunity to take our visions and turn them into reality… to take the hope we have for the future and compose the reality of today.
The clock is ticking. Even with the amazing progress we’ve seen over the last 5 years, the challenge has grown larger and more critical. Between 2003 and 2005, the number of adults with co-occurring serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders in America grew by one million people. That’s like someone in nearly every household in every city across the state of Connecticut being diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder over a two-year period.
The implications for the Nation are profound. This trend cannot continue. We are faced with a challenge that we can do something about…that we must do something about because we all have a stake in this. Co-occurring disorders are a shared problem demanding a shared solution.
We must accept and embrace the fact that we are not treating addiction or depression. We’re treating people…real men, women and children who are walking through our doors, bringing a host of real problems with them. Research suggests, and our own practice confirms, that each of these individual’s best hope for recovery lies in integrated treatment. The question is no longer if we need to be prepared to deliver integrated treatment…but how can we best prepare ourselves to meet this challenge.
The answer lies in collaboration… among all levels of State and Federal governments, across agencies, between the private and public sectors, among service providers and consumers and their families. We are one nation…but as I’m sure you have experienced in your efforts…each State is governed by its own legislative body with its own priorities and constituency to please. Even though the Federal government awards mental health and substance abuse grants to States each year, the States have wide latitude in how the funding is spent. Decisions about what services will be provided and who will have access to them are State decisions. And that holds true for those of you that are involved at the regional and local levels.
Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to integrated treatment of co-occurring disorders and it is the lifeblood of the transformation of our Nation’s mental health care system.
In its report, Achieving the Promise, the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health stated the truth loudly and clearly: “…No level or branch of government…no element of the private sector…can accomplish needed change on its own. To transform mental health care as proposed, collaboration between the private and public sectors and among levels of government is crucial.”
Your presence here today suggests that you are willing partners in collaboration. You are ready to build relationships with partners across substance abuse treatment and prevention, mental health, general health, and the recovery community to make tangible improvements in the way we deliver recovery-oriented care to people across the country. You are prepared to be part of a national network of colleagues who have agreed to stay focused on the vision that unites us.
I applaud you for that vision and for the progress you have made. As this summit gets underway, I urge you to make the most of your time here—to use your knowledge, skills and talents—and to build relationships with one another that will lead to improved treatment for all Americans. Working together, we can accomplish great things for our communities, our States, and our nation.
Introduction for Terry Cline
Under the leadership of Administrator, Dr. Terry Cline, SAMHSA is pleased to be part of your efforts. Dr. Cline has championed the principle that mental health and freedom from substance abuse are fundamental to overall health and well-being, and that mental and substance use disorders should be treated with the same urgency as any other health condition.
Hailing from the great State of Oklahoma, Dr. Cline spent the previous two years serving as the State’s Secretary of Health where he was an early champion of mental health transformation. During his tenure in that position, Oklahoma became one of the first States to align its strategic plan with the goals of the New Freedom Commission and use its block grant to promote a new recovery-oriented State behavioral health service system.
Prior to his position as Secretary, he served as Commissioner of Oklahoma’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services where he built strong collaborative relationships among public and private organizations and government agencies that touch the lives of people with substance abuse and mental health problems.
In addition to his work in Oklahoma, this transformational leader also spent 6 years as a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and served as chairman of the governing board for a Harvard teaching hospital in Cambridge. Over the years, his passion and commitment to improving the supports and services of individuals with substance abuse and mental health disorders is unsurpassed. Please join me in welcoming, SAMHSA’s Administrator…Dr. Terry Cline.
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