Support H.R. 1424: Call your state representative today!

Tomorrow the house will be voting on bill H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. This bill, if enacted, would fight insurance discrimination against the mentally ill by requiring mental health parity. Insurance plans that currently cover mental health would have provide the same benefits and same limits for mental health services as for physical health services. While this bill (sponsored by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)) would not cure all of the inequities surrounding mental health care, it would be a positive step forward for health care reform.

Stigma surrounding mental illness and misunderstanding of its prevalence, manifestations, and treatment options allow insurance companies to shortchange customers on mental health coverage. While there is data to dispute the misconceptions about mental health, much of that information never makes it to the general public.

One common misconception is that covering mental health care would be too much of a financial drain. In testimony to the house opposing H.R. 1424, the National Retail Federation states the bill would increase cost of coverage for retailer and employee alike. However, untreated mental illness is a great drain on the economy. The Wall Street Journal estimates the cost of untreated mental illness at over $90 billion a year, including lost productivity and resulting medical expenditures. Untreated mental illness causes increased absenteeism and lower productivity. Another damaging misconception is that mental illness occurs infrequently, so it doesn't need to be a priority. As discussed in a previous post, mental health issues are very common in the US. According to the Surgeon General, fifty-four million Americans, about 1 in 5 people, are affected by mental illness each year, regardless of ethnicity, sex or socioeconomic class.

The most damaging misconception about mental illness, particularly substance abuse, is that the illness is not real. The pervasive fallacy that one can control one's mental illness but simply chooses not to allows people to believe that someone seeking psychiatric treatment does not deserve the same medical attention as someone seeking physical treatment. This notion is ridiculous. Perhaps my psych degree and employment at a drug and alcohol center makes me more attuned to this issue than the average person, but it seems ludicrous to me that anyone with the option to thrive would choose to suffer. Mental illness is very real, and without proper treatment its consequences cause a great burden on the sufferer and anyone in their orbit. However, even if this were a valid argument for limiting treatment of mental illness, then shouldn't coverage be limited for people with type 2 diabetes who choose a poor diet, or people with high blood pressure who choose to lead sedentary lives? Nobody would ever dream of enforcing those types of limitations on physical problems (well...maybe the insurance companies dream it, but they couldn't get away with it), yet this double standard is tolerated for mental health issues.

So call your representative today! H.R. 1424 will not only expand coverage, but it will help to challenge outmoded beliefs, fight discrimination, normalize mental illness, and allow people to get the treatment they deserve.

UPDATE 3/6/08
It passed!