A coalition of consumers and professionals interested in mental health care vows to make sure next April 1 will not be a day for foolish pranks but for nationwide protests against managed care abuses.

That day has been designated Rescue Health Care Day by the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, which hopes to marshal significant enough support to convince lawmakers and health policy officials that managed care is a "failed experiment" that needs to be replaced with a "pro-patient, pro-quality system."

The coalition chose April 1 with a purpose: "April 1st is April Fool’s Day, and Americans have been fooled by the promises of the managed care industry," according to a flyer the group is circulating to announce the event.

The Saturday event will be nationwide and have three major components—daylong teach-ins, an hour of protest from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and a minute of silence at noon. The silence is to "mark the death of quality care and the deaths and harm done to patients at the hands of managed care," according to a brochure describing the event. Any person or organization can arrange a teach-in or a one-hour protest locally.

Coalition leaders are encouraging those who are distressed about what managed care has done to the U.S. health system to "write, phone, fax, or e-mail" their state and federal legislators to let them know how upset the public is with the managed care industry’s ability to control health care decisions.

All Americans are also being urged to wear a green ribbon on April 1 because "green is the color of new life [and] symbolizes the hope for a new and better system," according to a Rescue Health Care Day brochure.

APA, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Academy of Psychoanalysis are among the nearly 100 organizations that have signed on as supporters of Rescue Health Care Day. Only four federal lawmakers have joined the effort so far: Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), the only psychiatrist in Congress; Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio); and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Additional information on Rescue Health Care Day, including how to volunteer to lead a protest or teach-in, is available from the
coalition by telephone at (888) SAY-NO-MC or through its Web site at <www.RescueHealthCareDay.com>.