NAMI Minnesota Legislative Update & Alert
August 23, 2015
Tell Us What You're Thinking!
Every summer NAMI Minnesota conducts a survey to obtain your input into our legislative goals.
Please take a few minutes to fill it out. We value your opinion and insights! Click here
to take the survey. The survey closes on September 1st. Thanks!
Update on St Paul City Council Vote for Crisis Home
The St. Paul City Council met on August 19th to discuss People Incorporated's proposal to move their
16 bed crisis residence to the east side into an empty convent.
The St. Paul City Planning Commission stated that rezoning the property to RT2 Townhouse
Residential would not be a large variance from other zoning in neighborhood. They discussed the
concerns raised about spot zoning - defined as the process of singling out a small parcel of land for a
use clarification totally different from that of the surrounding area for the benefit of the owner of
such property and to the detriment of the owners. City staff said this was not spot zoning.
A neighborhood resident stated concerns about rezoning small parcel of land to RT2, as this is not
consistent with any other zoning in neighborhood and in his opinion this was spot zoning. He stated
his concern over lack of parking, stating the 16 room property historically had 1 - 5 individuals
residing there. With property being used to capacity, People Incorporated staff and other
professionals the three parking spots on property would not be sufficient.
People Incorporated staff discussed how the property is ideal due to its 16 individual bedrooms and
inside courtyard, thus allowing individual private space. They provided information about crisis
residences in other neighborhoods, how staff and clients engage with community members and
processes set up to address any neighbor concerns. They also discussed the referral process for
potential clients and average length of stays.
The treasurer of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration voiced their organization's support for
the proposal, stating they would not be willing to sell the property to People Incorporated if believed
it would not be beneficial to the community.
A person from the neighborhood stated the need for communities to stop use zoning guidelines as
way to segregate individuals and communities. Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough
delivered powerful testimony on the importance and benefits of deinstitutionalization and having
these types of services being integrated into the community.
The council deferred voting on this issue until its next meeting - 3:30 pm on Wednesday,
August 26.
To date we know that only council member Stark is supporting this proposal. Please thank Council
Member Stark for his support.
We also thank Mayor Coleman for his leadership and for coming out strongly in support of this
proposal. He stated that he doesn't usually weigh in on issues before the council votes but on this
issue he felt he had to: "This is different. It is different because I suspect that much of the
community opposition to this facility is grounded in a lack of understanding about the nature of
mental illness and the services available to treat it." It takes courage to come out and support this
proposal, we hope other council members join the mayor and Council Member Stark and vote "yes"
on Wednesday. We need people to come to the meeting on Wednesday to show their support.
Please make calls this week, especially to Tolbert, Thune and Finney. Tell them that denying this
proposal is discriminatory and that people's fears are being fueled by misinformation and stigma.
Dai Thao ward1@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8610
Dave Thune ward2@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8620
Chris Tolbert ward3@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8630
Russ Stark ward4@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8640
Amy Brendmoenv ward5@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8650
Dan Bostrom ward6@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8660
Bill Finney ward7@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8670
One thing to note is that there are elections this fall. Some have said that this is why some members
are reluctant to vote for the People Incorporated proposal. It's important to note that Council
member Tolbert has no opposition and Thune and Finney aren't running again.
Here is a link to an Op - Ed article by Star Tribune's Editorial Board stating their support for the
proposal. We thank them for this great editorial!
New Director of Mental Health
DHS sent out the following announcement on Friday:
Alice C. Nichols, LSCSW, LCAC, will be joining the Community Supports Administration as the director
of the Adult and Children's Mental Health Divisions.
Alice hails from Kansas, where she was director of Community Support Services at the Community
Mental Health Center of Crawford County since 2008. She comes with substantial leadership
experience in local government as well as a leader in statewide associations, where she is praised for
her ability to drive evidenced based practice, work collaboratively across service sectors and produce
positive outcomes for residents.
Alice is results driven and has experience across the continuum of mental health, chemical health and
crisis care. She has led efforts to ensure community supports exist beyond direct therapeutic
interventions, such as supported employment. She is a leader in recovery-oriented, strengths-based
care and has extensive knowledge of national recovery models and trends in healthcare integration
efforts.
Alice comes onboard effective Sept 14, 2015.
News on Mental Health Parity
From the APA
Today psychiatrists and patients moved a step closer in our fight for being treated like the rest of
medicine.
You may have heard that, today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded a
decision about whether the New York State Psychiatric Association (NYSPA), APA's chapter in the
Empire State, is able to bring suit against UnitedHealth Group for failure to provide coverage of
mental health that was equal to coverage for other medical services. Congratulations are due to
NYSPA for this victory.
Here are the two reasons why this ruling is a win:


The court said that NYSPA could represent its members and their patients in pressing a claim
under the Mental Health Parity Act through "Associational Standing."
The court said that an insurer could be sued even when it was acting as the administrator of
a self-insured plan. United argued that because it was not the insurer, the plaintiffs had to
sue their employers, and we can all imagine how difficult that could be for an employee.
Since the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) in 2008, some
health plans have made efforts to comply with the parity law, but many still have not. NYSPA has
done a wonderful job for our members and patients, and the profession of psychiatry by bringing
these issues to the court's attention.
This is not the only case involving the parity law. APA and others filed suit against Connecticut's
Anthem Health Plans regarding certain non-quantitative treatment limitations, which APA and the
other amici ("friends of the court") say violate MHPAEA. This case will appear in the same court on
September 21.
Think about how prominent mental health issues are in our country and in the headlines these days.
It stands to reason that mental health parity is crucial to the overall health and wellbeing of our
nation. We must take our fight to every place that could help our patients and our profession
increase access to care. While as many as one in five adults in the United States has a diagnosable
mental disorder, only 38 percent of adults who need mental health treatment receive it. The promise
of parity is that, when you have insurance, your insurer must treat mental illness fairly and equitably.
APA is working tirelessly to advance parity: Since patients who know their rights are better able to
defend their rights, we developed a new tool - our Parity Poster - intended to educate patients,
families and employers. It's also in Spanish. Now patients will know what constitutes a violation and
what to do about it. We've also brought greater attention to parity at the U.S. Department of Labor,
to state attorneys general, and to major employers - and we are finding many people are interested
to help.
Mental Health Parity - Is it Working for You?
We have begun to hear stories about the lack of enforcement of mental health parity laws, especially
on the federal level with self-insured plans. A recent article highlights the problems families are
facing. NAMI Minnesota has received complaints about frequent prior authorizations for hospital stays
or children's residential (such as renewing every couple of days), allowing limited number of
substance use disorder treatments, etc. Have you faced problems? Please let us know. Email us at
namihelps@namimn.org
Not sure who represents you?
MN Housing Plan - Comments Needed
Minnesota Housing has released a draft of the 2016 Affordable Housing Plan, their
annual business plan. The Affordable Housing Plan outlines key programmatic
and policy initiatives, specifies program-by-program funding and establishes
production goals. We encourage you to review and comment on the plan.
NAMI Minnesota has reviewed the plan. While funding for the Bridges program is
mentioned, we want it to be a higher priority within the agency. They also state
that "when allocating other rental production funds, we will continue to prioritize
projects that provide at least four units of supportive housing for people
experiencing or at-risk of long-term homelessness." We believe that they should
also target those supportive housing arrangement for people who have been at
Anoka, St Peter or in an IRTS or a corporate foster care setting. Email your
comments about the plan by Friday, August 28 at 4:30 MN.Housing@state.mn.us
Bulletins
DHS has issued Bulletin #15-25-11, ICD-10 Diagnosis Code Implementation.
Support NAMI's Work at the Legislature
NAMI Minnesota's legislative work is funded through individual donations and the
NAMIWalk. If you want to support NAMI's legislative efforts or just give a
"congratulatory" donation for this session we would greatly appreciate it. To give
online simply click here and if you or your organization would like to become a
sponsor for the NAMIWalk (for as little as $250) click here to learn more about
the sponsorship levels. Creating change isn't free!
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