The Daily Southtown, Tinley Park, Ill., Phil Kadner column
You probably don't care. Most such reports are boring, full of facts and technical jargon and usually about stuff that's of little interest to anyone. I haven't heard about anyone shooting up a shopping mall or movie theater recently, so mental health care is not high on anybody's list of priorities.
But I think it's interesting, especially in light of the debate over the state budget, taxes and the public outcry to cut the fat in state government. Because here's what the report says happens when governors and state legislators take out their budget ax:
--Between 2009 and 2012,
--Since 2009, the state has closed two inpatient facilities (including the
--Emergency room visits for people experiencing psychiatric crisis increased by 19 percent between 2009 and 2012.
--
--The total number of nights spent in a shelter statewide increased from 2 million in fiscal year 2011 to 3 million in fiscal 2013.
All of this and much more is included in the white paper by the
That's likely to make the people who voted for the governor unhappy because they figure it's us (taxpayers) against them (free-spending Democrats and their freeloading buddies).
I've been trying to explain to people for months that nothing is that simple. I've written numerous columns about people in need (the developmentally disabled, the homebound in need of support services to stay out of nursing homes and the mentally ill, to name a few) who are going to bear the brunt of any budget cutting.
I've repeatedly asked readers if those are really the people they wanted to suffer when they voted against raising taxes and against the Democrats who have controlled
And that reality includes mentally ill people not getting the help they need, while the state actually shells out more money to treat them in prisons, jails and hospital emergency rooms.
Providing adequate, community-based mental health care would be far cheaper, NAMI-Chicago maintains, as does
In a column last week, I described how the
According to the NAMI-Chicago report, 38.5 percent of adult in
NAMI-Chicago estimates that translates to approximately 5 million
The report says agencies paid by the state to provide treatment for these people have declined as state funding has been cut. In addition, a lawsuit against the state forced
For decades, private insurance companies failed to pay for mental health care. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was supposed to address that issue by providing insurance for those who are mentally ill.
"After five years of dealing with funding cuts, eligibility restrictions and consent decrees,
When the state began closing mental health institutions, it created a strategic plan to help those suffering from mental illness. NAMI-Chicago says the plan was great in concept but never received the funds needed for full implementation.
"Governor Runner's proposed Fiscal Year 2016 budget cuts will further strain our already fragile mental health system," the report contends. "The proposed
Of course, Runner's budget proposals have been dumped into the trash bin by Democratic legislators who are proposing a budget that is
But it should be remembered that it was under a Democratic governor and during the reign of Madigan that mental health care took a beating in
The NAMI-Chicago white paper contains a lot more information than I could possibly include in a newspaper column. But it contends that most people who are mentally ill could live productive lives with treatment.
They could be contributing to the workforce and society instead of acting as a drain on resources. And NAMI-Chicago suggests several common-sense approaches to mental health care that could address some of its more serious concerns.
I doubt anyone will read the white paper. I don't think politicians care much about the mentally ill. And that probably reflects the attitude of their constituents, the people who vote.
Yet most of us know someone who is mentally ill -- a relative, neighbor or co-worker. The statistics make that clear. And all of us rise up in anger when someone who should have been treated goes off the deep end and starts shooting people who are merely going about the business of living.
"Why didn't somebody do something?" we ask after such tragedies. Good question. But you're the one who has the answer.
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