Advocacy News & Alerts - NAMI Massachusetts

Advocacy Day postponed

We are disappointed to have to let you know we have made the difficult decision to postpone our Advocacy Day, scheduled for April 3rd. While we were working hard on converting our Advocacy Day to a virtual format, it’s clear that our legislators are extremely busy drafting laws to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19…

COVID-19 Resource Page

Important information about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the impact on NAMI Massachusetts programs

updated March 10, 2020 Dear NAMI Massachusetts community, Governor Baker has just announced a State of Emergency for Massachusetts due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Because we take the health and well-being of our NAMI Massachusetts community very seriously, we advise that in-person classes and support groups change to a conference call format and…

Attorney General announces agreements to enforce parity legislation

On February 27, 2020, Attorney General Maura Healey announced agreements with five insurers and two health benefits administrators to improve parity compliance and enforcement in the Commonwealth. This is an important step in improving access to behavioral health services and will effect up to 1 million people in the state. You can watch a short…

Omnibus Mental Health bill passes in the Senate

On February 6th, the Massachusetts State Senate Released an Exciting Omnibus Mental Health Bill – SB 2519 An Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health. NAMI Mass thanks all the Senators who worked so hard to make this bill possible especially Senate President Karen Spilka, Senator Michael Rodrigues, Senator Cindy Friedman, Senator Julian Cyr,…

Presidential Candidate Forum on Mental Health

On September 27th 7:00-10:00 PM ET, Mental Health for US is bringing together presidential candidates and our community to talk about some of the most urgent issues facing the nation today: mental health and addiction. Candidates will discuss their plans and voters will ask their most pressing questions about these issues ahead of the Iowa…

Hand writing Advocacy with blue marker on transparent wipe board.

Ghost Networks & the Budget passed!

Thank you so much to all our advocates who reached out to legislators and the Governor in the last couple of weeks. We have been successfully on all fronts! At the end of the session, both the House & Senate unanimously passed the Ghost Networks bill – S 2295 – An Act to increase…

NAMI to Appeal Decision in Short-Term, Limited-Duration Plan Lawsuit

Last fall, NAMI joined a lawsuit challenging an Administration regulation that allowed for the expanded sale of short-term, limited duration (STLD) insurance plans. Earlier today, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon upheld the Administration’s regulation in ACAP v. Treasury. NAMI believes this regulation hurts our decades-long fight for mental health parity by allowing for an…

Tell Congress to invest in Mental Health

This time of year, Congress makes decisions on funding important programs and services. We need your voice to tell policymakers to pass a budget that invests in mental health research, services and supports. Fortunately, the House Appropriations Committee has already shown that they are willing to support Americans affected by mental health conditions by passing a funding…

Parity a hot topic at Joint Committee on Financial Services Hearing

NAMI Mass joined other members of the Massachusetts Parity Taskforce and the Mental Health Coalition to testify at the State House on June 6th. The Financial Services Committee was hearing many bills that are important to our NAMI community. Monica Luke, Chair of the Advocacy Committee for NAMI Mass, testified on the parity bills (H.…