Projo Politics Blog

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

DENVER -- A congregation of politicians, medical professionals, lobbyists, and Hollywood stars gathered at the Denver Art Museum over salmon and arugula to agitate for something that can be in short supply at a national political convention: mental health.

Rhode Islander Bill Emmet was honored at the luncheon for his work with the Campaign for Mental Health Reform, an umbrella group of 18 organizations that is lobbying for better insurance coverage for the mentally ill.

Emmet, a one-time journalist and teacher who got into this business years ago by trying to help a brother who has schizophrenia, said the campaign's goal is as simple as its motto, "Mental health is integral to health."

The organization's top priority at the moment is the so-called mental health parity bill, which would require insurance companies to cover mental illness on an equal footing with physical ailments. The parity bill is the signature issue of Rhode Island Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, who was on hand in the modern, sun-lit museum to urge the members of the Creative Coalition to use their celebrity to lobby for the bill before Congress adjourns this fall for the national elections.

The famous creative people on hand included actor Matthew Modine and actress Anne Hathaway.

Mental-health lobbyist Emmet noted that his organizaiton has worked hard to enlist the support of all the disparate mental-health groups as well as politicans of both political parties.

He said wryly that he hoped it was permissable to mention President Bush's support for the cause. Nobody objected.

But Modine, the actor, did say during his turn at the microphone, "We have the opportunity to show how mentally healthy we are with the election of Barack Obama for president."

 Tags  Anne Hathaway Bill Emmet Democratic Convention Denver Art Museum Matthew Modine mental health

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