Medicaid and Mental Health Facilities

Lawmakers and mental health advocates agreed during a Senate hearing Wednesday that Medicaid should pay for short-term stays at residential mental health facilities as part of the broader goal of improving access to such services.
At a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, mental health professionals praised efforts to allow Medicaid to cover these services and otherwise increasing resources for patients with severe mental illness

Advocates Hope Senate Reconsider Treaty

WASHINGTON -- Advocates for Louisiana's disabled residents are trying to figure out why the Senate failed to ratify what they view as a non-controversial treaty designed to bring U.S. protections to other countries. The vote fell five short of the two-thirds margin needed to ratify a treaty.
The advocates contend the treaty, known as the United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities, would insure that disabled Americans, including military, are provided with protections when they travel abroad.