Gov. Terry Branstad has a plan for Iowa’s mental health care, and it would be a disaster.
His plan is nothing less than a corporate takeover of half of our state-run facilities that care for mental health patients, some of our state’s most vulnerable. Branstad has agreed to this plan along with two Republican legislators -- it still needs to pass both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate before being enacted.
We need your help to protect Iowa’s most vulnerable from Gov. Branstad.
Sign the petition ----> urge the Iowa legislature to reject Branstad’s plan to allow a corporate takeover of mental health care.
Gov. Branstad has been attempting to close two of the state’s four mental health facilities, in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. Under his new plan, the facilities in both locations would remain open under state control through the end of the year. At that point, private corporations and providers would be recruited by the state to take over operations.
Private corporations with no guarantee of oversight and the possibility of reduced care for Iowa’s most vulnerable… the Branstad plan is a recipe for disaster.
Here's what newspapers have been saying about the Branstad plan:
"It now appears the governor's proposal was never about improving mental health services for Iowans, as his administration claimed. It was all about eliminating 150 state jobs tied to Mount Pleasant and Clarinda." -The Des Moines Register, 5/12/15
"It remains unclear whether private options will be able to provide adequate care for those who historically have been helped by the state-run facilities." -Cedar Rapids Gazette, 5/12/15
