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It is now time to act
More than $1.2 billion is spent each year on mental health services in Minnesota and there are hundreds of public and private mental health programs, activities and agencies. But despite all this money and activity the system is not working the way it should. Patients and their families are dissatisfied because their needs are not being met. The system is inefficient and often ineffective. There is little coordination between public and private services and between the health care and the social services systems.
Both the state's current fiscal crisis and the parallel crisis in private health insurance premiums are complicating an already complex situation. Employers and government are resisting continued growth in mental health costs even as patients and families feel the system is not meeting their needs. Ways must be found to better help families with existing resources, and quickly, or face the risk that patients will lose access to even currently available mental health services due to loss of health coverage or cutbacks in government programs.
An abundance of mental health task forces, work groups, and reports have surfaced in the past several years. All of the groups that have examined Minnesota's mental health system agree that the current mental health system is flawed and that change is needed. Most also agree on what needs to be done. Some groups have identified opportunities to improve outcomes and improve efficiency and have begun to take action.
While there are pockets of activity, there is no organized effort to establish linkages between all those working on mental health system reform, to bring everyone together to coordinate their activities to achieve their common reform objectives, and to fill gaps where no progress is being made. The Minnesota Mental Health Action Group will fulfill this purpose.
Action group will spearhead change
The Minnesota Mental Health Action Group is a coalition of people and groups who are working on mental health reforms, led by a core group of influential public and private sector leaders who have vision and leadership roles within their own constituencies to effectively champion change. The Minnesota Mental Health Action Group is prepared to act quickly in order to begin to implement changes by the end of 2003. Activities include:
- Compare the reports, recommendations and proposals of the different work groups and commissions and identify and prioritize goals and strategies that have broad support.
- Compare the reports, recommendations and proposals of the different work groups and commissions and identify and prioritize goals and strategies that have broad support.
- Gather information on all of the projects currently underway.
- Identify and establish linkages with existing leaders and groups working on priority areas, and establish new task forces for priority areas for which no organized effort is underway.Form a larger coalition to work collaboratively on system reform.
- Develop a coordinated plan and timeline for achieving mental health system reforms in each of the priority areas and follow up to ensure progress is made.
- Serve as change agents to bring about the desired reforms through organizing and leading work groups to mobilize action around the specific priorities.
- Act collectively to overcome barriers and seek needed public policy changes.
- By the end of December 2003, assess the progress being made and prepare a report for the Governor and the Minnesota Legislature by the end of December 2003.
- The Action Group will end in December unless it decides it needs to meet occasionally in 2004 to ensure that progress continues.
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GOODNO, Kevin
Commissioner
Minnesota Department of Human Services
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CUNNINGHAM, Gary
Board Chair
Citizen's League
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ABDERHOLDEN, Sue
Executive Director
National Alliance for the Mentally III – Minnesota
ALEXANDER, Gordon
President
Fairview-University Hospital
ANDIS, Glenn
VP Public Programs and Behavioral Health
Medica Health Plan
BRAINERD, Mary
President & CEO
HealthPartners
BRAND, Ron
Executive Director
Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs
ERICKSON, Marti
Senior Fellow
University of Minnesota Children, Youth and Families Consortium
EWALD, David
Executive Director
Minnesota Association of Resources for Recovery and Chemical Health
FLATEN, Kris
Chair, State Advisory Council
State Advisory Council on Mental Health and Subcommittee on Children's Mental Health
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HEDIN, Maila
Director of Human Services
Minnesota Association of County Social Services Administrators
KUPPE, Mark
Director of Behavioral Health
Human Services Incorporated
LEPINSKI, Steve
Executive Director
Washburn Child Guidance Center
MANDERNACH, Dianne
Commissioner
Minnesota Department of Health
MEICHER, Sandra
Executive Director
Mental Health Association of Minnesota
PETERSON, Tom
Executive Director
Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Network of Minnesota
REITAN, Colleen
CEO Blue Plus and Senior V.P. Network Management
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota
SCHULZ, Chuck
Professor and Head of Psychiatry
University of Minnesota Medical School
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