June 28, 2011

Corporations Dominate Discussion of Mental Health

Corporate testimony at the State House shows that mental illness is a business. The discussion is about money typical of today's politicians. The error in MADANN's comment after this story is that the rights enumerated in the ADA exist in the US Constitution since 1790, not 1990. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination in entities which receive US taxpayer funds which includes hospitals. Politicians and journalists appear to be intellectually unable to scrutinize the fraud that is psychiatry. They are blinded by campaign contributions and the bylines they earn from the psychiatric businesses. The discussion before the committee was controlled by the psychiatric hospital lobby. If white supremacists determined how black people were treated; if homophobes determined state policy for homosexuals; how would politicians and journalists react? Yet they have no shame allowing the corporate interests determine how persons accused of mental illness are treated.


[From article]
"Mental health patients are treated unfairly compared to patients with other medical conditions
[. . .]
Dr. Gregory Volturo, emergency department chair at UMass Memorial Medical Center, said patients with mental health problems are treated differently by insurance companies and psychiatric hospitals than patients with other conditions
[. . .]
In January 2011, DPH and the Department of Mental Health sent a letter to remind hospitals of their responsibility under federal and state law to accept patients, regardless of their health insurance status.
[. . .]
Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster), the former co-chair of the committee, said she is bothered by the lack of parity for mental health patients.
[. . .]
“This is what is wrong in Massachusetts. This is what is happening in our emergency rooms across the commonwealth,” Flanagan said. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”
[. . .]
See also the comment by "MADANN" under this story.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20110627er_docs_lack_of_psychiatric_beds_leave_patients_stuck_in_hospitals/

E.R. docs: Lack of psychiatric beds leave patients stuck in hospitals
By Colleen Quinn /
State House News Service
Boston Herald
Monday, June 27, 2011

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