NAMI’s Omnibus Mental Illness Recovery Act is a new initiative targeted to state legislatures and state governments. It is designed to build a more comprehensive service delivery system by replicating evidence-based program interventions. While the omnibus recovery initiative combines the resources of NAMI’s public policy, communications, and regional directors, NAMI’s public policy and communications staff simultaneously pursues a federal policy agenda. The two agendas reinforce one another.

Omnibus Mental Illness Recovery Act Components

NAMI’s 1999 Federal Policy Agenda

Increase consumer and family member participation in mental illness planning, including involvement in accountability measurements and public reporting of such data. Enactment of equitable healthcare coverage including parity for mental illness. Access to new medications by allowing medically necessary medication despite formulary restrictions and ensuring that prescribing physicians practice evidence-based medicine. Expansion of assertive community treatment programs, including the evidence-based PACT model. Creation of work incentives for persons with severe mental illnesses, by allowing health insurance coverage for persons formerly on income assistance who locate meaningful employment. Reduction in life threatening and harmful actions, by significantly reducing the use of restraint and seclusion and limiting such use to only emergency safety situations. Reduction in the criminalization of mental illness through a multi-pronged strategy of activities, including jail diversion programs. Increase access to permanent, safe, and affordable housing with appropriate community-based services.

Enhancement of support for state mental health planning council members and increase in state mental health agency reporting requirements and accountability through the reauthorization of the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant. Enactment of equitable healthcare coverage, including parity for mental illness. Access to new medications by allowing medically necessary medication through enactment of Patients’ Bill of Rights legislation. Enactment of a "targeted" use of additional appropriations for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) guidance to state Medicaid directors on how to finance PACT through Medicaid. Implementation of a new federal law which creates work incentives for persons with severe mental illnesses by allowing health insurance coverage for persons formerly on income assistance who obtain meaningful employment. Reduction in life threatening and harmful actions, by significantly reducing the use of restraint and seclusion and limiting such use to only emergency safety situations. Enactment of jail diversion legislation including the establishment of mental health courts Increase in appropriations for federal housing programs for persons with mental illness.

Other items on NAMI’s federal policy agenda

1. Enactment of managed care patients’ bill of rights.

2. Involvement with debate over a Medicare prescription drug benefit.

3. Involvement in creating a federal standard for medical record privacy and confidentiality.

4. Increase in research appropriations and better accountability.

5. Allow the SAMHSA mental health and substance abuse block grants to effectively and equitably co-finance integrated treatment programs for co-occurring disorders.

6. NAMI is also in the process of developing both a children’s and veterans action plans.

With more than 220,000 members, NAMI is the nation's leading grassroots advocacy organization solely dedicated to improving the lives of persons with severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and severe anxiety disorders.