McCrory's mental lapse

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:36:37 -0500

Did Pat McCrory have a mental lapse?

Both Mark Binker and Laura Leslie think that the Republican gubernatorial candidate blew a question on mental health reform at last night's debate. (Dome agrees.)

Moderator Kelly McCullen asked how the candidates would structure the state's mental health system.

McCrory, who went first, noted the recent bill to require insurance companies to cover mental illness, saying he supported it but has concerns about any further mandates. Then he spoke generally about reform, saying it put decision-making at the local level and not a "centralized bureaucracy."

"I think there have been some good trends in that area during the past two or three years, including in Mecklenburg County, where some of the decision-making on what type of care is needed on individual circumstances is done at the local level by health-care providers closest to the patient," he said.

The other candidates smacked down talk of success elsewhere in the state, but it's also worth noting that the strategy has not been the concern on mental health reform as much as the implementation.

After the jump, McCrory's full response.

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McCrory's mental lapse