Tell politicians to make help a priority

I would like to commend The Herald for its recent coverage of important mental health issues, including the Jan. 22 article “Doors close to mentally ill” which covered the problems associated with the tightening of Medicaid rules, and Carolyn Hetherwick’s Jan. 22 guest commentary “Our mental health care system is in crisis.”

Both the article and the commentary covered many of the issues mental health advocates have been trying to bring to the public’s attention for some time.

Mrs. Hetherwick’s commentary is particularly insightful and comprehensive in coverage of many of the most important issues and calls for action from us all to contact our state legislators and let them know that we want them to support better mental health care in our state. Either we make access to mental health care a priority or we continue on a path that will create a population of people too sick to heal, their families left in shambles, and a system that cannot ever provide enough care to those who need it.

Cut Mrs. Hetherwick’s article out of the paper and tape it to your refrigerator. Then contact your legislator now and tell them you want a change toward better mental health care in Washington, and that you support a mental health parity bill that would require insurers to cover mental health in the same way they do other diseases, like diabetes or asthma.

Our legislators are in the process, at this very moment, of putting together the budget and making spending decisions on all facets of life in Washington. If you care enough about mental health issues, do something. The time to act is now!

Jim Bloss, President

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

of Snohomish County

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