Mental health treatment could be much more affordable, thanks to new legislation.
By now you”ve read news and op-eds about the $700 billion financial bailout bill that was approved in Washington, D.C. Shortly after it was approved by Congress, I encountered a disturbing story in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Oct. 7: that more people were cutting back on their mental-health therapy, even as they became more stressed.
I”d already become aware, through interacting with autism advocates, that treatments and interventions frequently remained out of reach due to an inability to pay for services that insurance agencies refused to cover. One article I read, suggested that parents obtain certification in a particular type of intervention because it required relatively little education to achieve the necessary credentials and the cost of necessary training was much less than the rates charged by certified professionals.
As I learned more and more about people”s insurance difficulties, I became increasingly grateful that so much of what I wanted to know about autism-spectrum disorders could be found in books that were available through my local library.
The WSJ article, however, indicated that the mental health crisis had taken on an even greater and widespread level as people lost jobs, homes and insurance. An accompanying graphic showed that suicides went up as U.S. employment dipped.
The article also cited a Rand Corp. health insurance study from the 1970s showing that when costs increased, people were more likely to defer mental-health than medical care ? and that a big reason was insurance.
What I didn”t know, however, is that a very important bill had been tacked on to the bailout package.
The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act has now been signed in to law. It requires insurers that cover mental health and addiction to do so on an equal basis with the coverage they provide for medical.
We”ll all still be in for a bit of a wait, because according to the New York Times, effective date for most insurers will be Jan. 10, 2010.
Proponents credit the law”s final passage with 12 years of passionate advocacy. During a recent visit, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson told me about one of its original sponsors and his battle with alcohol. Thompson is a co-sponsor of the bill.
The NYT article identifies several other members of the House and Senate who supported and fought for the bill and who battled alcohol addiction or had family members with mental illness.
The NYT credited other factors that influenced mental health parity gaining political acceptance ? including biological causes and treatments for numerous mental illnesses.
It quoted Dr. Steven E. Hyman, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, saying that an overwhelming body of scientific evidence showed that “mental illnesses represent real diseases of the brain.” “Genetic mutations and unlucky combinations of normal genes contribute to the risk of autism and schizophrenia.”
And as members of the U.S. Armed Forces returned from combat overseas with serious mental problems, there has been much less stigma attached to mental illness.
I didn”t know what to think at first when our elected representatives debated the bailout bill. I feel unqualified to express my opinion upon it as a whole.
I have to admit, however, that knowing about the mental health parity bill makes me feel better about the bailout package. I think it may give significant benefit to people who have struggled with addictions or with psychological or mental disorders.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com or call her at 263-5636, ext. 28.
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