(5-30-16) If you wish to know why parents of adult children with mental illnesses are frustrated by today’s failing mental health system, listen to Virginia state Senator Creigh Deeds’ powerful and eloquent keynote speech that begins at 3:05:05 on the video posted above. (Don’t worry, it is only a few minutes long.)
Senator Deeds’ observations about the problems he encountered because of federal HIPAA laws, mirror comments that I receive each week from bewildered parents.
Deeds was the featured speaker at a U.S. Senate Summit on Mental Health held by Senators Bill Cassidy (R. La.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) last week to whip up support for their bipartisan bill, the Mental Health Reform Act, which is making its way through the Senate. Both are hopeful that some version of it could be sent to the White House this summer to be signed into law.