Click here to go to the Home Page of The National Coalition

Click here to go to the Home Page of The National Coalition


 

For an more inclusive list visit the links page at the
Rescue Health Care Day web site by clicking here

From our sister organizations

From The North Carolina Chapter of The National Coalition:
NC Mental Health Coalition Main Page
Newsletter

From UHCAN - HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

Particularly Good for Consumers

From @Health.com
http://www.athealth.com
An Interview with Bryant Welch, J.D., Ph.D. (11/2000)
Overview of legal and quality-of-care issues, ranging from liability insurance to nuances of online practice. Part of an excellent Professional Interview Series directed towards health professionals. 

The American Mental Health Alliance
http://www.americanmentalhealth.com/
           !Wonderful links here!
     The American Mental Health Alliance provides people in need with quality mental health services - services that respect the individual's privacy and allow that individual to help shape the course of treatment. For employers, they offer a highly value-based benefit.

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
http://www.bazelon.org/
     Legal advocacy for the civil rights and human dignity of people with mental disability

California Coalition for Ethical Mental Health Care
http://www.ccemhc.org/home.html
The mission of the California Coalition for Ethical Mental Health Care  is to advance access to quality, affordable mental health care through the coordinated efforts of mental health consumers and professionals

California Department of Managed Health Care
http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/
 The people of the Department of Managed Health Care work toward an accountable and viable managed care delivery system that promotes healthier Californians.
     Through leadership and partnership the department shares responsibility with everyone in managed care to ensure aggressive prevention and high quality health care as well as improved overall efficiency, including the reduction of "papeleo" (burdensome paperwork).

The California Patients Guide:
Health Care Rights and Remedies
http://www.calpatientguide.org/
This guide is intended to inform you of your rights to receive quality health care and what steps you can take if you encounter problems.

Code Blue Now! America's Health Care Voice... and Yours
http://www.codebluenow.org/
Code Blue is the alert sounded in hospitals when patients are in cardiac arrest or face other life-threatening need for urgent care. Code Blue Now!: America's Health Care Voice is a public education and advocacy organization that will engage Americans in a broad dialog and advocate for change in the health care system. It doesn't just expand the health policy debate to include individuals, geographical communities, Internet communities, other organizations and the public at large. It also is a central grassroots forum for helping people find common ground and take action. It is non-partisan and non-ideological in its approach to health policy.

Defend Medicare. org
http://www.defendmedicare.org/page/page/434414.htm
The Campaign to Preserve - Not Privatize - Medicare educates the public, the media and members of Congress about the dangers of privatizing the Medicare program and the need for alternative legislation that will strengthen the program by making it more responsive to the needs of older Americans and people with disabilities

Citizens for the "Right to Know"
http://www.rtk.org/grievance.htm
"Take Control of your Heath Care: What to do if there's a problem" is a great resource on how to file a complaint. Citizens for the "Right to Know" is a network of approximately 80 consumer and specific disease organizations who share a common need -- access to quality information on health care plans in order to make informed consumer choices.  

Families USA -- A Voice for the Health Care Consumer
http://www.familiesusa.org/managedcare/
An exceptional organization that is dedicated to ensuring the patient rights. They are working to regulate managed care on state and federal levels, monitoring issues of Medicaid, Medicare, children's health insurance, and universal health care. This site has great summaries of developments in Congress and thorough information on the Single-Payer Health Care System, an alternative that they support. Also, they have a many publications, including a startling article on the enormous compensations given to managed care CEOs.

Flow of Patient Health Information Inside and Outside the Healthcare Industry
http://www.ahima.org/infocenter/current/patientflowchartweb.pdf
The American Health Information Management Association’s (AHIMA’s) "Flow of Patient Health Information Inside and Outside the Healthcare Industry" chart is divided into two groups: healthcare providers and non-healthcare providers. To read the chart, first determine which group you belong to, then follow the flow of health information to examine the many interrelationships that exist. There is no single starting point for this chart. As in everyday use of health information, the starting point depends on the end use of the information. Traditionally, the originating source of all health information is the treatment record. Increasingly, however ,health information can originate from any access point. Healthcare entities are facing the challenge of how to successfully manage and protect this health information as it moves across the continuum of care.

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org
Their mission is to be a watchdog for consumer rights within the healthcare system. Great site with tons of information, including Insurance Complaint Sites and information on current medical reform.
See also:
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/public_hts/medical/horror/file_idx.htm
Sponsored by The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Includes a listing of horror stories intended to raise awareness to the tragedies experienced by people at the hands of managed care.

Giant E-Mail Links Page from The Conservative Caucus
http://www.conservativeusa.org/megalink.htm

Here's your one-stop "megaphone" where you can E-Mail letters to your elected representatives, talk shows, the media, and even write letters to the editor.  Tell them what you think! 

The Health Care Helpline - Minnesota
866-296-4319
      US Senator Mark Dayton  (D-MN) has opened a toll free Health Care Helpline for patients who have been refused treatment by their HMOs and believe they should not have been denied. Although Senate rules do not allow members to use their office funds for public service announcements, Dayton paid $3500 from his own pocket for public service announcements which ask: "What can you do when you need medical care but your HMO or insurance company says no? Call toll-free, 1-866-296-4319.  If you have already received treatment and your HMO or insurer refuses to pay, Senator Dayton's Health Care Help Line can provide assistance."
        Senator Dayton at a Washington press conference said, "I am not asking the insurance companies to do anything for patients than that which is already called for in their contracts. It's unfortunate that it takes a call from a US Senator to elicit a response." Three staff members will manage the cases, sitting down with insurers to determine a resolution in each instance.
         MPPA salutes Senator Dayton. We contacted his office a week ago, and staff then reported that well over 300 calls had come in.    
  
   Lee Beecher, M. D., President
     Minnesota Physician-Patient Alliance MPPA
     6600 Excelsior Boulevard, Suite 121
     Saint Louis Park, MN 55426-4746
    
www.physician-patient.org
    leebeecher@aol.com 
     Phone: 952/935-7116
    
Fax: 952-935-0687

The Health Privacy Project
http://www.healthprivacy.org/
The Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University 

HMOs for Seniors
http://hmos4seniors.com/
The only website for older adults that offers independent Medicare HMO cost comparisons combined with the convenience of requesting plan information from the Medicare HMOs available in your area. 

How to Play HMO Hardball
http://www.hmohardball.com
How to play HMO hardball teaches patients how to prevent and reverse the wrongful denial of necessary healthcare by HMOs and their doctors.  The book contains easy-to-use, fill-in-the-blanks documents that are critical to successful patient appeals, arbitrations and lawsuits.  HMOs teach bureaucrats and doctors how to write documents that support denial of healthcare.  Hardball's documents present facts and ask questions that pressure HMOs to help patients, not harm them. 

The Institute For Health Freedom
www.ForHealthFreedom.org

An honest source for information about policies that affect your freedom to choose your health care treatments and providers and to maintain your health privacy—including genetic privacy.

The Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change
http://www.talkingcure.com
A research, training, and consultation group dedicated to understanding and promoting human change, growth, and potential.

The Insurance Consumer's Battle Manual
http://www.insuranceattorney.com
If you are a consumer looking for answers to fighting your managed care plan- do not miss this site. This site and Dr. David Trueman's site are "must sees" for the legal perspective. 

Law Offices of Dr. David L. Trueman
http://www.truemanlaw.com
An attorney and psychologist dedicated to fighting HMO abuse. This site is one of the easiest to maneuver through with the exceptionally thorough information on how managed care operates and how to protect oneself within a legal perspective.

The Medical Privacy Coalition
http://www.medicalprivacycoalition.org
This is a national partnership of organizations concerned about the threat to Americans' fundamental right to protect their medical information.

Managed Care Liability Project
http://www.managedcaresurvival.com
Project devoted to patients injured by managed care, particularly managed mental healthcare, and their attorneys. Site provides valuable information to attorneys so they can best represent their clients. 

Mental Health Resources
http://www.mental-health-resources.com/
An important web site bringing together links to high quality mental health rescource and information sites from across the internet.  

Long Island Progressive Coalition
http://www.lipc.org
The Long Island Progressive Coalition is a grassroots community-based organization dedicated to promoting sustainable development, revitalizing local communities, enhancing human dignity, creating effective democracy, and achieving economic & social justice. 

Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program
http://www.lipc.org/mccap.htm
MCCAP is the Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program funded by a grant from the New York State Attorney General’s office. The program is one of five pilot programs whose primary purposes are to:

Assist health care consumers in resolving problems with their health care plans
Provide information and outreach to health care consumers
Monitor HMO compliance with the Managed Care Bill of Rights
Collect data so that systemic issues and problems are identified

Mental Health - Madison
http://www.mentalhealth-madison.com/
This web site is dedicated to providing consumers and professionals with the latest, most reliable information about mental health conditions, treatment, and resources.

The National Center for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
http://www.ncptsd.org/
This organization is resolved to educate and help persons manage the impact of  traumatic stress.  Especially good section relating to the recent terrorist activities in NYC.

Patients Who Care
http://www.patients.org
A non-profit organization dedicated to educating and helping patients in managed health care programs. 

Physicians For A National Health Program
http://www.pnhp.org
Physicians for a National Health Program is a not-for-profit organization of physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals that support a national health insurance (NHI) program.

Psychotherapists for Social Responsibility
http://www.psychotherapistsforsocialresponsibility.org/
a group of psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, mental health workers and other mental health professionals whose premise is that the personal is political and the political is personal.

Recovery, Inc
http://www.recovery-inc.org/
Recovery, Inc. is a self-help mental health program based on the ground breaking work of our founder a neuropsychiatrist, the late Abraham A. Low, M.D. They are non-profit, non-sectarian and completely member managed. Recovery Inc., has been active since 1937 and we have groups meeting every week around the world.


Information for Professionals from
Mental Health - Madison

  Dealing with Insurance Refusal to Pay for Couples Therapy

  Therapists' Strike  

  Letter to the Editor: Consumer protection  

  Therapists' Insurer Profiling ("TIP") Scale©: Therapists ratings of insurance companies  

  The latest grades and fees  

  Eastern region insurance companies  

  "Big Five" managed behavioral health care companies in the East  

  Western Region  

  "Big Five" in the West  

  Midwest  

  "Big Five" Midwest  

  South

HHS Privacy Rules
http://jaffee-redmond.org
A COMPLETE abstract of the HHS Privacy Rule's provisions relating to "Psychotherapy Notes," with all relevant text included.  This document also includes the Federal Register page numbers of all mentions of "psychotherapy notes" and of "Jaffee v. Redmond," so it can serve as a guide to those who wish to see the quoted passages in context within the printed version of the rules.


Important National Resources

Citizens' Council on Health Care
www.cchc-mn.org
Progressive group from Minnesota addressing managed care and confidentiality. Take a look at their "Top Ten Medical Confidentiality Strategies for Patients."

Coalition of the Public and Physicians for Sensible Health Care Reform
http://members.aol.com/coppsusa/copps_usa.html
Educates the public about flaws in the healthcare system and makes suggestions for reform. They support Autonomous Care, a suggested alternative to Managed Care.

Health Administration Responsibility Project
http://www.harp.org/
This organization is dedicated to establishing the liability of managed care organizations for the consequences of their decisions.

HMO Page
http://
www.hmopage.org and http://www.msapage.org
Sponsored by Physicians Who Care. Provides eye-opening information on Managed Care abuse. This site has good information on Medical Savings Accounts, an often-discussed alternative to Managed Care.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
http://www.nami.org
140,000 members strong, they are the most powerful and well-organized advocacy group for those suffering from mental illness and brain disorders. They are going head-to-head with managed care.

The National Coalition for Patients' Rights
http://www.nationalcpr.org
A cutting edge organization that is dedicated to defending patient privacy. This site is provides exceptionally important information on the threats to personal privacy being introduced through Managed Care and National Health Identification Numbers.

National Organization of Physicians Who Care
http://
www.PWC.org
Site provides legislative alerts, suggestions for patients, and supportive articles for physicians. The Patient Access to Specialty Care Coalition
http://home.patientaccess.com/pac
A coalition of 130 national patent and medical service provider organizations dedicated to ensuring that the focus of healthcare is on patients and the quality of their care.

The Unites States Senate Site on Patient's Bill of Rights
http://www.senate.gov/~dcp/patients_rights
A site providing information on the Patient's Bill of Rights - an important bill being considered in Congress that would establish an ethical code for insurance and managed care companies in their delivery of healthcare. The Republican version is vastly different than the Democratic version. It is important to know the differences before you vote!


Professional Organizations and Contacts

American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABE)
http://www.abecsw.org

The American Psychiatric Association
http://www.psych.org/

The American Psychoanalytic Association
http://www.apsa.org

The American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org

The American Counseling Association
http://www.counseling.org

California Nurses Association
http://www.calnurse.org
A highly progressive and intelligent union fighting HMOs in California.

Clinical Social Work Federation (CSWF)
http://www.cswf.org

The Rhode Island Psychological Association
www.ripsych.org
They also have a site for the Coalition of Mental Health Professionals of Rhode Island www.ripsych.org/comhpri


Join our efforts to preserve quality, ethical health care!

Feather pen

If you got here from the national Coalition's site, Close this window to return to the main page


If you got here from another site, click on the Logo at the top of the page to access our main page


Click to donate to the Privacy Defense Fund

Help to support the National Coalition by purchasing logo items from our store
Support This Site
Click here to view our PRIVACY policy

Address: 

The National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, Inc.

P.O. Box 438

Commack, New York, 11725

Telephone: 

1-866-8-COALITION (1-866-826-2548)

or 1-631-979-5307

Fax:

1-631-979-5293

Direct E-mail to:

Kathleen Saccardi, Office Manager, at NCMHPC@aol.com

We can build a better health care system!

webmaster@TheNationalCoalition.org

Click below to donate to our discretionary fund. We will use this as we see fit.

(credit cards accepted)