I believe his wife is or was a pushy hospital administrator. I give him credit for speaking on a topic that is so "bottom shelf" and so full of stigma.....

Big pharma is everywhere. They are like the mob in old NY.

"Obama's proposal operates on the assumption that we have a mental health treatment paradigm in this country that is working well and that troops can benefit from it"

That's a great point, and he as well as anyone else trying to reform health care has lots of time to be educated on the topic, eh?

I find the contribution list fascinating, and I see Abbott and AstraZeneca as well as Starbucks have bases covered on that one.

"Obama's proposal operates on the assumption that we have a mental health treatment paradigm in this country that is working well and that troops can benefit from it."

Sorry, Philip. I just don't see that. It sounds more like he wants to overhaul a system that's not working. To his defense, he only knows what he sees and what his advisers tell him. Not to sound callous about mental health, but I don't think meeting with NAMI is at the top of his agenda.

The key part here is we don't have a mental health system that works now. So anyone wanting to overhaul health care in the United States, not only has an enormous, and almost impossible task before them; but the person MUST understand the military troops cannot be helped any better than they are right now, because what we have for ALL Americans, is a system that is dysfunctional, and medications that do their job about 50% of the time. There is a new mental health paradigm that needs to be created, starting at ground level.

The care as out patients is missing too many components. Hospitals or home--there needs to be for everyone, including veterans, a place to go, that is a step out of hospitals and realistically--off of the streets.

Combat post traumatic stress disorder in my opinion, is one of the most dire needs we have in this country right now, and I feel any one who has spent time in the military should be offered a lifetime of FREE care, and I mean GOOD care. The waitlists alone keep veterans from receiving any care at all, often leaving families struggling to pay medical bills, and find their loved ones decent mental health care.

I hope Barack or any one else speaking about health care reform sits down with real people and takes a look at real life situations, off camera--and without kissing baby photo-ops.

We cannot move forward with change, until we go backwards and see what was not in place to begin with.

Just my .02 for the day.

Geez, Louise. One would have thought that the Senator would have known that our mental health system remains in shambles. After all, President Bush provided the following reassurance when he introduced his New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2002, "Our country must make a commitment: Americans with mental illness deserve our understanding, and they deserve excellent care." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020429-1.html

From the The Letter to the President which accompanied the Interim Report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, "Our review for this interim report leads us to the united belief that America's mental health service delivery system is in shambles." http://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/reports/interim_letter.htm

Reporting in from hearing Obama speak in Seattle. Nothing specific about mental health issues, veterans etc.just reforming health insurance, education, and of course he will end the war in Iraq "when I'm in office." It was the most un-inspiring event I've been to, and hey I was at the re-election rally for Nixon when I was 12. He appears to be open-minded, and sincere, but there wasn't a platform yet worth a nickel.

"I hope Barack or any one else speaking about health care reform sits down with real people and takes a look at real life situations, off camera--and without kissing baby photo-ops."

Unlikely. He's too busy taking baby-kissing photo-ops. While the mental health issue is a concern to us, we're a small majority of Americans. Obama has bigger fish to fry.

"One would have thought that the Senator would have known that our mental health system remains in shambles."

Good point. This should be common knowledge, but it isn't. Obama is more concerned with pushing universal health care rather than revamping ill-working systems.