April 02, 2007 - Vol 1, Issue 12
NYS Budget: Much To Celebrate, But No $ for Geriatric Mental Health Demos
The NYS Budget passed on April 1. Unfortunately it did not include additional funding for geriatric mental health demonstrations and mental health training in nursing homes--both of which had been included in the Senate's budget proposal.
It did add $13.2 million for continued open access to antidepressants, $2.5 million for nursing home transition and diversion, $2 million for centers of excellence in cultural competence, $1 million for suicide prevention for young Latina and elderly Asian women, and more.
Some of the new funding in this year's budget will benefit older adults with mental illness. Community- based housing alternatives to nursing homes, access to anti-depressants, enhanced cultural competence, and suicide prevention for Asian elders all could make a significant difference.
We are grateful to all of you who joined us to fight for geriatric mental health.
We'll be back next year!
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GMHA Receives Grant from van Am Foundation
We are very grateful to the van Ameringen Foundation for a grant of $60,000 per year for three years to support the work of the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance. Our work to date would not have been possible without the Foundation's support. This new grant will help us continue our efforts to promote improved geriatric mental heatlh policy and practice in New York State.
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GMHA Upcoming Events
April 16, 2007 – Hoarding and Mental Illness hosted by the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York and the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity of Hunter College. Presenters are:
- Carmen Morano, Ph.D., Director of Education, Associate Professor, Hunter College School of Social Work,
- Judy Willig, LCSW, Executive Director, Heights and Hill Community Council
The event will be held from 3:00 - 5:00PM at the Hunter College School of Social Work – Auditorium, 129 East 79th Street, NYC, (Between Lexington and Park Avenues). Please make a registration by emailing yhsin@mhaofnyc.org or calling (212) 614-6356. The event is free but pre-registration is required.
Deadline to register: Wednesday, April 04, 2007
For more information, please see the flyer.
May 31, 2007 - 1st Annual Geriatric Mental Health Alliance Conference. Please join fellow Alliance members from around the state for our first annual conference entitled “Geriatric Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities Across the Horizon” on May 31, 2007 from 9:00 - 4:00pm at the Hotel Pennsylvania.
Our keynote is Dr. Steve Bartels, a Professor at Dartmouth Medical School and an eminent researcher in geriatric mental health. He will be presenting on implementing evidence based practices to address the mental health needs of older adults. There will be an exciting panel on models for integrating health and mental health services, a presentation by NYS Office for the Aging Director, Michael Burgess, a terrific series of workshops from some of our members on innovative models, clinical skills and more.
Please click here for the brochure and registration information.
Please spread the word! Share the brochure with your colleagues, post the info to your websites, and announce it in their newsletters.
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Upcoming Events
April 11, 2007 – Taking a Closer Look: Reflections on Living with Early Stage Memory Loss - The Alzheimer’s Association – New York City Chapter is hosting a symposium for people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, family members and professionals from 9:00am-3:30pm at The Roosevelt Hotel, 45 East 45th Street, New York, NY. Please see the brochure for more information.
April 13, 2007 – Health Promotion and Culturally Appropriate Clinical Care sponsored by The Consortium of New York Geriatric Education Centers. The event focuses on focuses on clinical care of elders and their families in the context of cultural and gender diversity. For more information, please view the flyer. Michael Friedman, Alliance Chairman, is the keynote speaker.
April 19, 2007 – Optimizing Medicare Opportunities: Increasing Mental Health Services for Seniors sponsored by The Westchester Co Geriatric Mental Health and the presenter is Derek Jansen, Ph.D., MPH, Practice Management Alternatives, LLC. The program will be from 8:30am until 12pm at St. Vincent’s Hospital, 275 North Street, Harrison, NY. Please see the flyer for more information.
April 19, 2007 – The Aging Brain St. Vincent’s Hospital Westchester is sponsoring a half day workshop on the physical and emotional changes that take place in ours brains as we age and a discussion of helpful resources. The event is from 1-4pm at St. Vincent’s Hospital, 275 North Street, Harrison NY. For more information, please see the flyer.
April 19, 2007 - Successful Aging: Lifelong Strategies for Health and Wellness The Cornell University Cooperative Extension Westchester County is hosting an interactive video webcast. The videoconference will review the role of nutrition and physical activity in healthy aging, explore societal and governmental support needed by older adults and reflect on the effects of ageism.
For more information and registration, please click here.
April 19th and 26th May 3rd and May 15th, 2007 – Research Study on Providers’ Perceptions of Barriers and Facilitators to Geriatric Mental Health Treatment in Nassau County. Dr. Brad Zodikoff, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., Assistant Professor, Adelphi University School of Social Work, is conducting a series of concept mapping focus groups on geriatric mental health service issues specific to Nassau County. Funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, this project, focused on the suburban context of aging and mental health, seeks the participation of providers and administrators in health/mental health settings in Nassau County. All sessions will be held at the Alumni House Board Room, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY. Mental health providers’ sessions will convene April 19th and 26th from 5:00-7:30PM. Health providers’ sessions will convene May 3rd and 15th from 4:30PM – 7:00PM.
For further information, directions, and to RSVP, please contact Dr. Brad Zodikoff at 516-877-4363 or zodikoff@adelphi.edu
April 27, 2007 – OPEN HOUSE: NYSPA Division on Addictions will be holding an Open House from 6-9 PM at the Torch Club in Manhattan. It is open to all psychologists involved in the field of addictive disorders. The event is designed to allow the AddicDiv to keep psychologists informed about current issues connected to addiction in New York State and to hear feedback from the field about how the Division can best serve the needs of psychologists working in the field of addiction. Please see the Save the Date flyer.
May 8, 2007 - Senior Citizens’ Day 2007 Public event celebrating the many individuals from across the state who have volunteered in their communities to improve the lives of others. The event will be held from 1:00 – 3:00 in the Empire State Plaza, Meeting Room 6, Albany, NY.
June 19th and 20th - Save the Date: The 11th Annual “Aging Concerns Unite Us” Conference at the Albany Crowne Plaza, State and Lodge Street, Albany, NY. For more information, please email gabe@nysaaaa.org or visit the NYSAAAA website.
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Medicare Mental Health Parity Legislation Introduced
Rep. Stark Introduces Legislation That Would Create Mental Health Parity Under Medicare
From Kaiser Daily Health Report
March 27, 2007
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) last week introduced legislation (HR 1663) that would require parity in mental health services for Medicare beneficiaries, CongressDaily reports. The bill would reduce the copayment for outpatient mental health benefits from 50% to 20%, which is the rate charged for most physical health services. It also would eliminate a 190-day limit on inpatient mental health treatment (Johnson, CongressDaily, 3/27). In addition, Stark in a release said the bill would provide more Medicare coverage for mental health services that are cost-effective and community-based. Stark noted that one in five seniors experience mental health problems unrelated to aging, and more than one-third of seniors show signs of depression in primary care settings (CQ HealthBeat, 3/26). The bill is expected to move separately from legislation introduced earlier this month by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) that would require private insurers to offer mental health parity (CongressDaily, 3/27). Stark said, "As Congress debates requiring private group health plans to offer equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses, it should at the very least make sure public programs provide that same parity" (CQ HealthBeat, 3/26).
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In the News
Fidelity Says Retiree Health Costs Rise
March 27, 2007
By MARK JEWELL AP Business Writer
From AP/Houston Chronicle
BOSTON — Rising health care costs are eating up more of retirees' savings, with a 65-year-old couple retiring this year needing about $215,000 to cover medical costs over the rest of their lives, Fidelity Investments said Tuesday.
The $215,000 represents a 7.5 percent increase from Fidelity's estimate last year of the amount a typical U.S. couple would need during retirement to pay for health care, including medical and surgical expenses as well as prescription drugs.
That increase is slightly higher than the average annual increase of 6.1 percent since Fidelity began calculating retiree health care expenses five years ago. Since then, the highest increase came in 2005, when the estimate rose 8.6 percent.
The cost estimates generally track inflation in health care expenses. Fidelity, the nation's largest mutual fund manager and a provider of retiree financial services, projects health care costs will rise about 7 percent per year.
Those costs are rising faster than overall inflation because of increasingly expensive medical technologies, costlier prescription drugs and longer life expectancy, said Brad Kimler, senior vice president for Fidelity Employer Services Co., a division of Boston- based Fidelity.
"We don't expect to see this number going down," Kimler said.
Fidelity estimated that 32 percent of the $215,000 estimate _ up from $200,000 a year ago _ would be for Medicare coverage premiums for expenses from doctors' visits, outpatient hospital care and prescription drugs.
Another 35 percent of the expenses would come from other cost-sharing provisions of Medicare, including co-payments and deductibles. Out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions would account for another 33 percent.
Fidelity's estimate is calulated with projected life expectancies of 82 for men and 85 for women. It doesn't include over-the-counter medications, most dental services and long-term care. The estimate assumes retirees have no employer-provided health care coverage.
Kimler said the growth in health care expenses poses a special challenge for people who expect to rely on Social Security as a primary income source in retirement.
Fidelity projects that a 65-year-old worker who now earns $60,000 a year and expects to retire at the end of this year should expect that 50 percent of his or her pretax Social Security benefit will be eaten up by health expenses in the next 16 to 18 years.
"That's a pretty large chunk of your post-retirement income," Kimler said.
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