State mental health policy: Back to the future: New Mexico returns to the early days of Medicaid managed care

Much More than a Clinic: Chicago's Free Health Centers 1968-1972

Drawing on archival evidence, I document the emergence and florescence of three free health clinics in Chicago in the late 1960s. I trace the centers' forceful removal by the city's Board of Health, and their subsequent replacement by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FHQCs). I argue that the demise of the free centers is exemplary of a broader trend in US health policy of regulating and diminishing the health care options of poor Americans. By highlighting the stark contrast between Chicago's free health centers of the 1960s and the health care services offered by contemporary FQHCs, I reveal a gradual shift from health care rights to accessing care in the US health care safety net.

Buffering the Uneven Impact of the Affordable Care Act: Immigrant-serving Safety-net Providers in New Mexico

We conducted a study in early 2014 to document how the initial implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affected health care provision to different categories of immigrants from the perspective of health care providers in New Mexico. Though ACA navigators led enrollment, a range of providers nevertheless became involved by necessity, expressing concern about how immigrants were faring in the newly configured health care environment and taking on advocacy roles. Providers described interpreting shifting eligibility and coverage, attending to vulnerable under/uninsured patients, and negotiating new bureaucratic barriers for insured patients. Findings suggest that, like past efforts, this recent reform to the fragmented health care system has perpetuated a condition in which safety-net clinics and providers are left to buffer a widening gap for immigrant patients. With possible changes to the ACA ahead, safety-net providers' critical buffering roles will likely become more crucial, underscoring the necessity of examining their experiences with past reforms.

The transformation of behavioral healthcare in New Mexico

Since 1997, public-sector behavioral healthcare in New Mexico has remained under continual transition. We have conducted qualitative research to examine recent efforts in NM to establish a recovery-oriented behavioral healthcare system, focusing on comprehensive community support services, clinical homes, and core service agencies. We examine how decisions made in the outer context (e.g., the system level) shaped the implementation of each initiative within the inner context of service provision (e.g., provider agencies). We also clarify how sociopolitical factors, as exemplified in changes instituted by one gubernatorial administration and undone by its successor, can undermine implementation efforts and create crises within fragile behavioral healthcare systems. Finally, we discuss findings in relation to efforts to promote wraparound service planning and to establish medical home models under national healthcare reform.

Coaching mental health peer advocates for rural LGBTQ people

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) people are affected by mental health disparities, especially in rural communities. We trained peer advocates in rural areas in the fundamentals of mental health, outreach, education, and support for this population. The peer advocates were coached by licensed mental health professionals. We evaluated this process through iterative qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and written logs from coaches and advocates. The six major themes comprising the results centered on (1) coaching support, (2) peer advocate skills and preparation, (3) working with help seekers, (4) negotiating diversity, (5) logistical challenges in rural contexts, and (6) systemic challenges. We concluded that peer advocacy for LGBTQ people with mental distress offers an affirmative, community-based strategy to assist the underserved. To be successful, however, peer advocates will likely require ongoing training, coaching, and infrastructural support to negotiate contextual factors that can influence provision of community resources and support to LGBTQ people within rural communities.