ACTION ALERT

California Legislation:

AB 2324 - Health Data Reporting: Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups: Status: Assembly Health Committee (Hearing: Tuesday April 13, 2004 - 1:30 p.m.).

This legislation, authored by Assemblymember Wilma Chan, addresses racial and ethnic health disparities by (1) improving the collection of data re: race, ethnicity and primary language and (2) fostering collaboration among state agencies to address the underlying determinants of community health. It would ensure that race, ethnicity and primary language data is collected by state programs and agencies that provide services to the public and that this data is aggregated, publicly available and analyzed to identify disparities and measure program effectiveness.

AB 2324 will provide the opportunity for government agencies to work together to address the underlying determinants of health and to inform us about their current efforts and capacity to address community health. The elimination of health disparities requires high quality data to identify disparities and to assess the effectiveness of programs designed to address them.


If you are in support of this bill, you can:

1.	Obtain endorsements for the bill from organizations in the community;
2.	Meet with your state legislators, especially those who are members of the Assembly Health Committee;
3.	Ask your Assemblymember to become a co-author of the bill. If you do not know your Assemblymember, please go to www.leginfo.ca.gov. If your Assemblymember is on the Assembly Health Committee and you are interested in urging him or her to support AB 2324, you can contact Marty Martinez of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) at mmartinez@cpehn.org. In order for AB 2324 to pass the Assembly Health Committee, it needs at least 10 votes.

Federal Legislation:

S. 486 - Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act
Status: Health, Education , Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee

This legislation, sponsored by Senators Domenici (R-NM) and Kennedy (D-MA), expands the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 by prohibiting group health plans from imposing treatment limitations or additional co-payments on the coverage of serious mental illness. Mental illness is the second leading cause of disability and premature death in the U.S. Mental health parity is a fair and affordable solution that will save lives and families.

With a shorter session this year, the Senate must act on parity soon or it will not pass in 2004. Parity supporters have set up a toll-free hotline to maximize support for the bill. If you are interested in supporting this bill, you can call the Congressional switchboard at 1-866-Parity4 (1-866-727-4894) and ask to speak with your Senators. Let them know that you support S.486 and you want them to urge Senators Frist (R-TN) and Gregg (R-NH), Chairman of the H.E.L.P.Committee, to make mental health parity legislation a top priority for passage in 2004. In addition, you can encourage your family, friends and colleagues from around the country to call their Senators in support of S. 486.

STAND UP, SPEAK UP and ACT UP!