Support a Carve Out for Mental Health from Managed Medicaid

House Bill 11 aims to extend managed medicaid across the state and will decrease mental health services for our children, adolescents and adults with mental illness. This is an urgent matter as Missouri Government has secretly passed legislation which will cripple mental health care across the remainder of the state at a time when teen suicides and school violence are on the rise.

Currently, St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and the Rolla area have managed care. These areas have increased social need and lack of services for children that suffer with mental illness such as Autism, ADHD, Learning disorders, Behavioral Disorders, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Impulse Control Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Severe Depression and many other disorders. Some but not all of these children are in the foster care system or suffer from extreme poverty, and child abuse.

Children that suffer from child abuse, poverty, neglect or have the above disorders are in need of intensive psychiatric services which is limited by the managed care system in affected areas. Fortunately, in the Springfield area we have not been affected thus far therefore, we have been able to provide quality care to the children in Springfield and the surrounding areas. Currently, mental health care in Springfield is centered around the needs of our children not by the needs of a for profit entity ran by a company in another state with no real understanding of the mental health needs of the children in our community. The house will vote on HB11 on April 13, 2015 and if this appropriations bill passes as expected, the ability to provide client centered services in the Springfield area and across the state will change effective July 1, 2015, if we don’t act now.

We are asking for your signature to stop the expansion of managed care as it pertains to mental health. We would like your support and your signature stating you support a carve out for mental health to protect the mental health needs of our children who suffer from mental illness. NO MORE Columbines, Sandy Hooks, Virginia Techs, and teen suicides. If the children and young adults that perpetrated these crimes had received quality mental health care they may have made different choices. This effects everyone in our community. Please let your representative know that you are concerned for our children’s mental health, children’s safety, and the safety of others.

Support Quality Mental Health Care and ask for a carve out for mental health by signing this petition.