Forum to Focus on Mental Heath Care

An educational forum exploring the treatment of mental health within a managed health care system is set for Friday.

“To Your Health: The Managed Care Debate,” sponsored by the Mental Health Coalition of Ventura County, is being held in recognition of May as Mental Health Month.

“Managed care really came in and has taken the nation by storm as one of the major ways to reduce health care costs across the nation,” said Dr. Richard Reinhart, a representative for the Mental Health Coalition.

However, there doesn’t seem to be any recognition of the need for funding mental health care as there is for funding physical health care, Reinhart said.

“Most of us in the field have long understood that mental health care and medical are closely intertwined--there are physical problems that complicate medical health and there are mental health problems that complicate physical problems,” he said.

Additionally, many mental health providers believe that the managed-care system does not always function according to the best needs of the patient, Reinhart said.

“However, the point of this managed care debate is not to slam and bad-mouth managed care companies” he said. “It’s to bring to the attention of the public the view from the providers’ side and not just opinion--but actual documented cases.”

This forum is for not only mental health care providers and clients, but also managed care representatives and the general public. Panelists will include state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), neuropsychologist Shirley Geller from the National Mental Health Coalition, and Duane Essex, managed care developer for the Ventura County Department of Behavioral Health.

The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Harbortown Marina Resort in Ventura.