SENATE BILL: ...Mental Health Reform Act of 2013 (Failed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Sponsor: NC Yankee

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I volunteer to have myself committed. Maybe I won't have to take this exam in the morning.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I just love sitting for 10 minutes at a white screen waiting for something to happen. Someone will be paying for that later.

This bill is obviously necessary of course, and we do have a serious issue with access and infrastructure, but as well as a two pronged problem with the issue in the general public, that is actually two fold. One we face a significant problem with lack of awarness regarding available resources, as well as a general reluctance to discuss the issue in public. There is of course a reluctance to discuss these matters on top of that general stigma that comes into play when it involves a family member. It is my hope that while the present text is rather lacking at present, that by the end of this debate that we shall have a substantial reform package that seeks to correct the many ills present.

As to the means here, I must say that it is not my preferred means and is the result of a failed attempt to ensure that productive colaboration on the matter with the Vice President would be successfully concluded with a pressing deadline. However, that well known destroyer of one's mental health, otherwise and sometimes referred to as Law School deprived us of much of the input that he would have otherwise been able to make available to us. He did provided great efforts on the research phase and should be commended for such.

I also want to thank the assistance of Secretary Polnut, and Former Senator Franzl who provided feedback on their respective real life county's systems, which though lacking in detailed substance, was informative to a great extent about the problem. We know from their feedback that this is a global problem and that people generall are lacking in awareness of available options and utilities, as much as they are unwilling to discuss the matter, not all that different from the situations we have here. Others were contacted as well, but I am not able to recall whether they replied or not and the VP can perhaps provide a fuller account of such feedback with regards to who all replied and provided information on this matter.

It has also occured that an event in my own personal life has provided some experience with regards to the problem of awareness and that is the ability to effectively survey said options before selecting a particular course and not wanting to end up on an irreversable path, simply while trying to obtain information on the available resources and options at the disposal of the family members. It is to be acknowledged that virtually every region also provides their own services on Mental Health, over and above what we currently or will seek to provide with this and thus it is in my opinion essential that some means of information be made available over the internet or over the phone. A resource while standardized in usability and function to be sure, but details the information pertaining to that particular locality and is thus specialized with regards to that.

It shouldn't be taken as any indication of less import or any lack of consideration with regards to the very important matters of access and availability, that I have so far focused this post. I will state we likely face a dearth of professionals in rural areas for one and thus the need to travel great distances to attain treatment, which would tend to serve as a discouraging factor towards getting a person the care they need. I am fairly certain that a signficant amount of care is provided for in the terms of the "Fritzcare" system, it should be of the utmost efficacy to review that program to ensure tht the services provided are adequate to the most pressing needs. We most certainly should focus on the infrastructure and access and ensuring that we provide the care to those who can't afford and then making sure there are enough facilities and resources within a reasonable distance will be essential to building a system that encourages a healthier mental state of the people in this country.

While access and cost are essential aspects, we must also work to change the conversation and encourage family members to be empowered to take action with regards to relatives who need care, with the information as well as with the comfort that they will receive support in the community instead of scorn or embarrassment and that they will receive the help and aid so as to reduce the fear of losing a paycheck or disruption of finances, which can also serve to discourage people from getting the necessary treatment.

We know the general problem and with the research and personal experience here provided, we know some of the underlying specifics. We can thus form some general ideas bout how to proceed, but it will definately require a team effort to build and craft solutions to such a complex, but critical problem. Once again, the format here is not a preferred choice on my part as this Senate is not the place that is known to be able to build from scratch on a team effort, but is much more suited to reviewing the personal initiatives of a single individual or team of two people working together. So no I haven't gone crazy in the way that I have offered this bill (I will be saving that for later when I get my hands on a certain idiot who has done so much to sabotage or efforts in this body already ), and I will be providing amendments to start to give shape to this bill and address those issue that I have here laid out.

What you have seen though is the produce of just two people and thus I am fully encouraging other Senators to bring forth there ideas and their own personal experiences with regards to the utilities and resources available, difficulty of discovering what those are and discouragement present to do something that can get a person help, who desperately needs it. This is a complex issue and there are limits to the understanding of any issue that one person can hope to attain and therefore feedback will be of the most assistance in helping to craft a solid reform of these systems.

One of the hardest things we face won't be the weeds of determing lack or presence of facilities, but how to change attitudes and minds and get people to treat this seriously and respectfully as the the health issue that it is. We have come a long way with regards to treatment since the days of beatings and drilling holes in people's head to let the evil spirits out. But we still have some distance to travel in general soceity and the attitudes towards people with such illnesses and their family members. I think that it requires attention in the curriculum at schools to be sure, but how we change minds of people in general on issues that are likely so engrained is going to be a question of the utmost difficulty. 

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I think I am going to make that post the standard by which future "initial advocacies" will be judged.

really? thats crazy!

I volunteer to have myself committed. Maybe I won't have to take this exam in the morning.

Really? THATS CRAZY!!!

Anyway I should probably get back to this bill. BUT THATS CRAZY!!!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Possible Template of Organization:

I. Infrastructure
- Providers and Specialialists
- Providing Coverage to "Mental Health Deserts"
- Support for Regional Institutions and Structures

II. Access
- Possible Changes to Healthcare System
- Veteran's Coverage (With particular emphasis on the transition out of Tricare - Poor Matt )
- Coordination with and Support for Regional Programs.

III. Awareness and Information
- Regional (or State) Administrated information hotlines and websites
- Public Campaigns
- Education

IV. Support for Family Members
- Financial Support for disrupted families
- Community Support and Dignity
- Ensuring the Quality of Services Provided and Oversight of Regional Services.

V. General Public and Stigmatization.
- Curriculum Alterations
- Public Service Advertisements
-

VI. Declaring Oakvale Mentally Ill
- For Twice Disrupting the Senate's Work
- For hating the poor and the mentally ill by jamming my connection while trying to post this bill.
- BUT THATS CRAZY!!!!!

Just kidding on the last one. Or am I?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I plan to offer the first amendment or two tomorrow. That will set up the outline and probably one or two of the sections. I would like to go as fast possible, but I don't want to outstrip the attention span either, which I am probably already dangerously close to for today.

[MaxQue]

Doesn't this Senate ends in two days?
I thought than all outstanding bills died when changing Senates.

[tmthforu94]

All things considered, I think it would be much more appropriate if the bill was named after me.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Doesn't this Senate ends in two days?
I thought than all outstanding bills died when changing Senates.

lol of course not and especially not once they are on the floor. You must be Crazy.

All things considered, I think it would be much more appropriate if the bill was named after me.

Thats Crazy!

[MaxQue]

Since voting deadlines will probably begins soon and we have no text, what will happen?

Perhaps a better use of the committees would be to work on such empty bills and fill them with content BEFORE they reach the floor.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Since voting deadlines will probably begins soon and we have no text, what will happen?

Perhaps a better use of the committees would be to work on such empty bills and fill them with content BEFORE they reach the floor.

Well that is own purpose of the committees to be sure.

However the only other time I pulled this trick was when I was passing the bank regulation bill in 2010. It worked rather well then, but not so much here. Probably because I had a partner this time.

As for deadlines, there are no such deadlines. As long as debate continues, there are none.

So will we have an actual bill to debate any time soon?

If I have time today, I will have the first amendment up today.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/The_New_Atlasian_Healthcare_Act

The only reference to Mental Health in this bill is the generic "Mental Health Services". I am thinking we should get more specific than that and list several form of mental health care, ranging from maybe counseling and low other low level care to the more extensive and critical forms of psychiatric care. Of course that would require some degree of knowledge about the field of medicine, but not so much as to be impossible to attain.

Would the Senators be willing to consider incorporating into the CHPs a division or section specifically dedicated to administering mental health care and related activities?

I would imagine a text something like this:

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[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Ah, no feedback on this matter? This is going to be a long spring then.

[MaxQue]

Well, I can't say I know much about CHPs or currently healthcare law.

And I don't why anyone would oppose CHPs having to have a section focusing on mental healthcare.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Don't you remember way back in the day, Maxy? When you were one of the votes for the Healthcare law. The CHPs were created as part of that law as part of the administration of the services and so forth. There are five of them, contiguous to the regions, with the membership as defined in the relevant section of the bill linked above (while it was amendmend in 2012, this portion wasn't altered).

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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[MaxQue]

Don't you remember way back in the day, Maxy? When you were one of the votes for the Healthcare law. The CHPs were created as part of that law as part of the administration of the services and so forth. There are five of them, contiguous to the regions, with the membership as defined in the relevant section of the bill linked above (while it was amendmend in 2012, this portion wasn't altered).

Well, I thought than so-called Fritzcare was replaced by the "New Atlasian Healthcare".

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Don't you remember way back in the day, Maxy? When you were one of the votes for the Healthcare law. The CHPs were created as part of that law as part of the administration of the services and so forth. There are five of them, contiguous to the regions, with the membership as defined in the relevant section of the bill linked above (while it was amendmend in 2012, this portion wasn't altered).

Well, I thought than so-called Fritzcare was replaced by the "New Atlasian Healthcare".

The link is to the "New Atlasian Healthcare" bill. It amended certain sections of Fritzcare, particulary dealing with funding and so forth, but it is the same bill for the most part.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment has been adopted.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Finding information on health institutions is driving me crazy. Maybe then we will be able to properly reform our system.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Well keep it at Duke. I appreciate your efforts on this matter. I wish I had a working computer still of my own. I fear if I started google searching these matters on this machine, "certain" people might think it is about them and thus cause more family issues.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

If this computer stays working, I might just be able to relieve Duke of some of that load.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Hey Duke, can you post what you have acquired so far, so that I can sift through it and fill in the gaps then. That way we won't be covering the same ground twice.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

If my computer works, then yes I could get anything done in a couple of days. If not, then I lack the means to attain the information necessary to complete the bill as I intend and envision it. In that case, I would amend this to smaller, less comprehensive change, which would be a shame but would still accomplish some important things on this matter.

This worked back when I did the financial regulations, but the different then was that I was working alone and had been internalizing the complexities of the matter for over a year thanks to real life events.

Also, considering the length of time that we spent going in circles on the Comprehensive Social Security Bill (months), I don't see that I have imposed on the Senate by placing this here and taking a few unexpected weeks because communications is slowed and I lacked the research capibilities when my new computer failed on May 2nd (The day after I brought this up). It is undeniably an important effort, is it not?

It is also intimidating, but there is no reason why aspects that I have referred to can't be fleshed out through multi-party contributions. The matter is so diverse that such is probably the only way the full, comprehensive approach gets done.

If the lack of feedback and participation is at issue, okay, then consider a means by which we can combat general perceptions and get people talking and working on thisi n general society. You are very in depth person Nix, and I am sure you got ideas on a variety of the subcomponents here. Napoleon amendment the Health bill and has knowledge about those issues. There are also a number of other Senators possessing similarly strong areas applying to a subissue. Ignore the overall picture, hone in on you know and start thinking and talking.

We have how many Labor Senators here? Should not section IV be right you guy's alley? What are the current levels of support in Atlasia for such person's? Do we know this? Do we need the GM to tell us? How should they be then augmented?

I asked Duke to look up matters relating to section I, but since I can't get him to respond. I will do my own search, once I finsih updating the Senate threads, provided the modem doesn't give out like it did last night or the computer blue screens. Even beyond that, I still have a dial up connection and thus limited access to the research because of that and the time factor. You peopel live in states and different countries, tell me what problems exist in your states and places of residents. That was one of the purposes of the Senate according to the Convention dialogue and the Federalist Papers was to ensure that the complexities respected each state were at least considered on a bill. I'll find as mcuh as I can and if things go well, then I should have amendments coming today or tomorrow.

My computer giving out at the beginning of MAy and Duke being unavailable because of law school rendered my scheem of introducing this as a menas to force completion a failure. I admit that and it was my fault for thinkign it would look the same way it did back in 2010. However, I will not let this opportunity pass us because of a miscalculation.