Mental Health Leadership Initiative Inc

Programs: Partnerships: kennedy forum illinois - in 2016, mhli formalized its relationship with the kennedy forum project in illinois and formed the kennedy forum - illinois, llc, (tkfi) a single member llc (a and disregarded entity for tax purposes) of mhli. (continued on sch o) (continued from 990 page 2 - partnerships) founded by illinois civic leaders, tkfi operates and focuses on action in illinois. Tkfi is supported by a strong, visible leadership council. Tkfi's priorities include: - reduce stigma by improving the quality of mass media coverage and community dialogue around mental health and addiction, - expand access to care by fully implementing and expanding parity in healthcare for mental health and substance use disorder care, - improve quality and efficiency of mental health and substance use disorder care through improved system integration, coordination and quality, - promote prevention and early childhood brain health by disseminating the latest science around brain health and fitness; and - leverage technology for better prevention, reach and care. In 2016, tkfi produced a return on donors' investment. The work has resulted in a direct return to the state of illinois, to the city of chicago and to thousands of residents and families impacted by mental health and addiction challenges. Some of these accomplishments include: - helped secure more than $2. 4 million in federal dollars to the state of illinois by identifying and providing technical grant assistance to support implementation of mental health and addiction parity laws as well as support efforts to help make chicago a trauma-informed city. - engaged 5,000+ residents in stigma-busting conversations via our "on the table" initiative. - developing an online directory of more than 300 mh/sud services for residents of chicago. - advanced federal payment for collaborative care and adoption of this model by major health systems in illinois. - launched the il parity implementation coalition, a group of 25+ organizations working together to advance implementation of parity laws, which will help providers and patients get reimbursed by commercial health insurance and medicaid plans for the treatment and care they deliver and receive. Mhli assisted with tkfi's convening of its 3rd annual forum - a full day of conversations with thought and local leaders and supporters to ignite new ideas, build cross industry collaboration and inspire actionable results. More than 1,000 people attended in person and via webcast in december 2016. Tkfi was able to raise $904,000 in 2016 in support of its initiatives. Morehouse school of medicine/satcher health leadership institute - the partnership between the kennedy forum and satcher health leadership institute (shli) at morehouse school of medicine (msm), now known as the kennedy satcher center for mental health equity (the kennedy satcher center), focuses on behavioral/mental health research, policy tracking and analysis, and thought leadership. The center serves as a national resource for convening key stakeholders regarding policy-relevant behavioral/mental health issues and providing leadership focused on reducing health disparities and ensuring equitable access to quality behavioral health care and optimal health outcomes for people living with mental health and substance use disorders. The collaboration has led to the development of a state behavioral health database to track, monitor, and support the analysis of behavioral health policies and their impact; assess state, regional, and national emergency systems of care for mental/behavioral health disorders; continued to build best practice models for culturally-informed integrated (primary and behavioral health) care that include policy implications and solutions to policy and system-level barriers; and assessment of policy level interventions that address community-level risk and protective factors to mitigate risk and maximize resilience. International mental health research organization/one mind institute - the kennedy forum continues to support imhro/omi in their development of programs in the area of brain science. The kennedy forum views research as a critical component to the development of solutions that will create a better behavioral health system for all americans. One mind initiative at work - in 2016, the kennedy forum continued its partnership with the one mind institute to develop a coalition of business leaders with the goal of transforming approaches to mental health and addiction in the workplace. This project will likely expand to include how healthcare is purchased, and how we can gain equity, collaboration, and parity between physical and mental health. Smart approaches to marijuana (sam) - sam is an alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy. Sam envisions a society where marijuana policies are aligned with the scientific understanding of marijuana's harms, and commercialization and normalization of marijuana are no more. The kennedy forum supports sam's mission to educate citizens on the science of marijuana and to promote health-first, smart policies and attitudes.

policy development:general policy recommendations:the kennedy forum continued to promote and update the five key public pillars it developed to dramatically improve behavioral health services, which includes both mental health and substance use: (continued on sch o) (continued from 990 page 2 - policy development-general policy recommendations) pillar 1: parity compliance/payer accountability pillar 2: provider accountability and quality pillar 3: integration and collaborative care pillar 4: technology - assessment/treatment tools and enterprise-wide solutions pillar 5: brain health & fitnessthese inter-locking policy issues must all be addressed to optimize the kennedy forum's mission of promoting mental health and substance use disorder clinical and financial outcomes. The kennedy forum has made these recommendations and will continue to promote and leverage existing and new relationships to encourage implementation of the five key pillars toward the system we need in health care to finally realize parity and health equity. Now campaign:recognizing the need to bring mental health to the forefront of the 2016 presidential race, the kennedy forum developed the now campaign. Numerous organizations partnered with the kennedy forum to engage presidential candidates to address mental health and addiction-related issues. This nationwide movement sought to find solutions to educate the candidates on issues important to mental health and addiction and to hear from candidates on how they will address access, innovation, research efforts and veterans. State of the union in mental health and addiction:the kennedy forum hosted the second annual state of the union in mental health and addiction at the mayflower hotel in washington, dc in february 2016, a national policy and media event to highlight promising solutions, and hold leaders accountable for the real cost and impact of inaction on all sectors of american society - from education to criminal justice. With several hundred in attendance and tuning in via webcast, panelists included officials from the private insurance industry, private philanthropy, the centers for medicare and medicaid services, and fortune 500 companies. Each panelist proposed new ideas to address the mental health and addiction crisis facing the country, and committed themselves to keeping the pressure on to finding new solutions. At the event, the kennedy forum unveiled an animated video it developed called "the system we need", which outlines what a fully functional and integrated system of care should look like in the future.

parity implementation:the mental health parity and addiction equity act of 2008 (mhpaea or parity law) promised equity in the insurance coverage of mental health and substance use disorder care, but years later mental health parity is still not a reality and many americans continue to be denied care, often when they need it the most. To fulfill the promise of the parity law, health insurance plans must be held accountable to comply with the letter and spirit of the law. (continued on sch o) (continued from 990 page 2 - parity implementation and education)in 2016, the kennedy forum continued working with policymakers and regulators to push for clear regulations and guidance to implement the law in the commercial market and in medicaid managed care and the children's health insurance program; called for strong, public enforcement of the law; and worked to promote education of parity and right of appeals. Through a partnership with the scattergood foundation and the treatment research institute, the kennedy forum launched and continues to update the paritytrack initiative (paritytrack. Org), a way of quantifying the progress toward parity implementation across all 50 states. Using an innovative website platform, paritytrack looks at implementation activities using three key metrics and areas of focus: legislation, regulation, and litigation. Each state's progress is visualized on the website, and model legislation was developed to aid state policymakers and advocates. The kennedy forum developed a resource guide "navigating the new frontier of mental health and addiction: a guide for the 115th congress". The guide, for all members of the 115th congress, outlines what each member can do to address mental health and addiction issues regardless of party or committee, provides an overview of how parity implementation is tracked on the state level through mhli's innovative paritytrack initiative, and how consumers can be empowered and hold insurance plans accountable for their actions through a new tool, parityregistry. Orgmhli launched a new tool and website, parityregistry. Org. This site provides users with the information and resources needed to exercise their rights to equitable insurance coverage. If the user chooses, they can also share their story and submit a complaint. The kennedy forum can use the information provided to advocate for better enforcement of the parity law. In addition, mhli continues to convene a legal work group, consisting of lawyers from all over the country, to discuss and disseminate decided and active cases involving parity and/or health equity, as well as reviewing attorneys general's pressures on insurers to secure parity.