[Timothy's Team] Timothy's Team Update - URGENT - CALLS NEEDED TO ALBANY!

Wed Jun 21 10:06:08 EDT 2006

URGENT! - LEGISLATORS MUST HEAR FROM CONSTITUENTS IF TIMOTHY'S LAW IS TO
BECOME A REALITY IN 2006:  As Tuesday night worked its way toward Wednesday
morning, Timothy's Law advocates anxiously awaited news from negotiations
between the Assembly and Senate.  The high level of anxiety was caused by
the fact that advocates and legislators both know that the process by which
a bill can be considered in either house of the state legislature is that a
bill must "age" three days.  And with time ticking away toward what is now,
at least, one anticipated extra day that the legislature will be in Albany
before adjourning for the year, advocates realized that in order for
anything to be accomplished this year on Timothy's Law, a "message of
necessity" from the Governor would be necessary to bypass the three day
"aging" process.

Of course, advocates were hoping that the Assembly and Senate could have
come to an agreement before Tuesday night at midnight, however that was not
realized.  The up-side of this situation is that it provides additional time
for those who believe that discrimination in insurance coverage for those
with both mental health and addiction needs to let their legislators know
that they expect them to address this issue before returning from Albany.

At this point in the process, it is imperative that everyone who believes
that systemic changes are due regarding the mental health and addiction
services available to New Yorkers to contact both their Senator and
Assemblymember, along with the respective leaders in each house (Senate
Majority Leader Joe Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver) and
articulate support for a comprehensive parity bill that provides coverage
for both mental health and addiction needs.  We must demonstrate the support
that Timothy's Law has to our elected leaders if this legislation is to
become law.

Call your Senator and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno at 518-455-2800 and
ask to be connected with the appropriate office.

Call your Assemblymember and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at 518-455-4100
and ask to be connected with the appropriate office.

Tell them that a comprehensive parity bill that includes coverage for both
mental health and addiction treatment must be enacted this year.

 TIMOTHY'S LAW NIGHT AT "THE JOE":  Dozens of Timothy's Law supporters
gathered on Tuesday evening at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on the campus of
Hudson Valley Community College for the home-opener of the Tri-City Valley
Cats single-A baseball team in which the Oneonta Tigers upset the Valley
Cats 7-6.  Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was on hand to throw out the
first pitch and took time to chat with Timothy's Law supporters at the game.
Senator Bruno and Tom O'Clair had a brief conversation in which Senator
Bruno assured Tom that the Senate and Assembly had been negotiating and they
were going to get a version of Timothy's Law acceptable to Tom passed this
year.

IN THE NEWS:

A similar article to this one was published in The Journal News

Lawmakers dig in on bill for mental health care - Timothy's Law pushed

Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin                    June 21, 2006

By Cara Matthews

ALBANY -- Lawmakers said they were negotiating feverishly Tuesday to broker
a compromise on Timothy's Law, a bill that would require insurance companies
to provide the same levels of coverage for mental health care as other
medical services.

"We're trying to get closer and closer together so that we could get
something done, so that we could get some progress on the issue," Senate
Mental Health Committee Chairman Thomas Morahan, R-New City, Rockland
County, said.

That's just one of many unresolved issues during the last week of the
legislative session. Others include proposals to crack down on Medicaid
fraud, issue property tax rebates, expand the state DNA databank, and keep
dangerous sex offenders locked up even after they have completed their
prison sentences.

The Democrat-controlled Assembly has passed the so-called mental health
parity bill annually for several years, this year in March by a vote of
134-9. But it's been held up by the GOP-led Senate.

The Senate has demanded an exemption for small businesses and a possible
waiver for companies that incurred a cost increase of 2 percent or more, but
the Assembly has been firm that the mandate should apply to all companies.

Part of the deal could be to give businesses a tax credit because of the
extra cost, Morahan said.

There are other differences to be broached. The Assembly wants substance
abuse treatment covered. The Senate would limit coverage to more severe
mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, major depression and
schizophrenia.

Assemblyman Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, Montgomery County, said he was
cautiously optimistic lawmakers could work out a deal that would pass muster
with Gov. George E. Pataki.

"This is the right thing to do. Government needs to do the right thing,"
Tonko said.

It's important to cover substance abuse treatment, Tonko said. Often,
someone with a mental illness also has a substance abuse problem, he said.

The bill is named for Timothy O'Clair, a 12-year-old Schenectady boy who
hanged himself in 2001 after struggling with depression. His family had
struggled to get care for Timothy after their insurance coverage for his
illness ran out.

Groups that support Timothy's Law say it would end discrimination against
people with mental illness. Insurers who provide coverage for mental health
and substance abuse services currently can charge higher deductibles or
co-payments for those services.

The issue is not one of discrimination, said Mark Amodeo, of the New York
State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. There is
evidence-based criteria to support the diagnosis, treatment and anticipated
recovery for physical illness, he said.

"Mental disorders on the other hand are more subjective in terms of
diagnosis, treatment and recovery. In the case of chronic mental illness,
for example, there is long-term, possibly lifelong unlimited treatment to
consider," he said.

Meanwhile, Pataki and Assembly Democrats continued to bash one another over
the issue of expanding the DNA crime databank. Pataki held a news conference
for the second consecutive day -- a sign that talks aren't going well -- to
demand the Assembly pass a bill that requires anyone convicted of a felony
or misdemeanor to submit a DNA sample.

The Assembly wants to phase in such a plan over a number of years, saying
state labs can't handle the potential influx -- and cost -- of a rapid
expansion.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said Pataki is trying to
appeal to conservative Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire, a jab at
Pataki's attempt to launch a presidential campaign. Pataki called that
characterization "despicable."

Timothy's Law advocates at the Joe

Timesunion.com Capitol Confidential Blog                 June 20, 2006 at
8:03 pm 

by James M. Odato

Tom O'Clair and about three dozen of his partners in the effort to create a
mental health parity law held "Timothy's Law Night'' at the Joseph L. Bruno
Stadium in Troy Tuesday.

Wearing matching T-shirts, they filled a small section of the park.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno threw out the first pitch for the first
home game this season of the Valley Cats and shook hands with some of the
advocates and got his picture taken with some, O'Clair said.

The group, usually lobbying in the Capitol, is pushing Bruno to accept their
version of a bill that would make sure employers offered health insurance
that covered treatments for mental illness. Bruno has said the bill is
unaffordable for small businesses and could increase the number of uninsured
if employers stopped offering health insurance because of the cost of so
many mandated coverages. 

Mental Health Bill Gains

Crains Insider             June 21, 2006

Eliot Spitzer appears to have slammed the door on the Working Families
Party's Fair

Share bill, which would make most employers provide their workers with
health insurance.  Assembly Democrats had struggled to come up with a
compromise on the Fair Share bill that would be acceptable to various
factions; Spitzer came out against it this week, saying that it doesn't
offer a comprehensive solution. But momentum is building in the Legislature
to pass a bill mandating equal coverage for mental illness. Albany insiders
say that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno seems intent on getting a major
piece of health legislation through and could turn to what is known as
Timothy's Law. Business groups also strongly oppose mental health parity.

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