Mental health and related organizations are soliciting participation in a rally to urge the U.S. Congress to pass the legislation that will reform insurance rules to ensure that emotional and behavioral disorders (along with other mental health issues) are covered by health insurance policies. Here’s an example from Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association and the source of the image at the right):
Millions of Americans with mental disorders do not have equal access to health insurance. Many health plans discriminate against these people by limiting mental health and substance abuse healthcare by imposing lower day and visit limits, higher co-payments and deductibles and lower annual and lifetime spending caps.
Mental Health America and is local and state affiliates support comprehensive health insurance parity legislation, which would ban these practices by requiring the same health insurance coverage for mental disorders as physical disorders.
The issue of coverage for mental health expenses has been a long-standing source of complaint from many in the mental health services community. To be sure, there is some self-serving reason for the support of this effort on the part of service providers. However, resolution of this issue is of even greater importance to individuals with mental health problems and their families. Competent treatment, which often requires the services of multiple individuals representing multiple agencies, is very expensive. Most people can’t afford to pay for the sudden spikes in expense associated with, for example, a bout of extreme depression. Without insurance help, parents of children with Autism may not be able to afford the intensive systematic behavioral therapy that is required for those children to have a chance to succeed.
One pays insurance to be protected against the costs of terrific events, and that protection should include mental health issues. Most mental health issues are, essentially, health issues. They often arise from biological factors and they often have biological consequences, just as do problems such as pneumonia, heart attacks, cancer, and other health issues. They should be covered in the same fashion.
Download a copy of the flier. See the extensive list of organizations that support the effort to ensure insurance parity for mental health concerns.
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