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CHECKUPNOW PETITION
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We, as Americans, are calling on policy makers to endorse the following CheckUpNow Coalition principles:
Principle 1: The President and leaders in Congress should include in federal health care reform a commitment to incorporating mental heath checkups as a routine part of adolescent health care.
Principle 2: Federal and state governments should promote access to voluntary mental health checkups for all Americans between the ages of 11 and 24.
Principle 3: Federal and state governments should support a national education effort to increase public awareness about mental health checkups for young people and the impact of detecting mental disorders early.
Principle 4: Federal and state governments should work with health care providers and the insurance industry to ensure that mental health checkups are seen as a key first step to implementation of parity for mental health and are integrated into routine health care for young people.
Principle 5: Young people receiving care and prevention services through federal and state-supported health programs including Medicaid, CHIP, FEHBP, TRICARE and the
Indian Health Service should be offered mental health checkups.
Principle 6: Appropriate federal and state agencies should initiate priority plans to
expand mental health checkup programs to populations at elevated risk for suicide
and mental illness.
Principle 7: Federal and state governments should support ongoing evaluation and improvement of the efficacy and impact of mental health checkups.
Mental illness and suicide affect the lives of young people and their families all across the United States, yet so many of these individuals do not have access to vital prevention programs. Federal and state governments already play a pivotal role in a range of prevention efforts to protect the health of young Americans including child immunizations, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and diabetes and nutrition education. Mental health checkups must receive equal recognition and coverage among these life-saving efforts.
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