Contact:
Patrick Cody
(703) 838-7528
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY WOULD BE BOON TO MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WITH MENTAL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS
New Law Would Increase Insurance Premiums by Only 3.6 Percent, Represent Other Savings
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (March 26, 1998) "Full parity is cheap and good public policy precisely because behavioral health treatments work. Treatment restores functioning at home, work and school, reducing other social costs by improving lives," said Michael Faenza, President and CEO of the National Mental Health Association.
Rep. Marge Roukema (R-NJ) and colleagues today introduced legislation that will forbid insurers from imposing different limits on inpatient and outpatient treatments for mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders and physical illnesses.
"We are making progress in our struggle for social justice -- long considered futile -- one step at a time," Faenza said. Congress passed legislation taking effect this year that requires insurance plans covering 50 or more employees to equalize annual and lifetime limits on mental and physical health costs. "Parity in cost-limits is a good start, but it is not enough," Faenza said. "Twelve states now require at least some parity in health care treatments, and 20 others are considering it. The Roukema bill makes sense and Congress would be smart to pass it."
"We know up to half of all visits to primary care doctors are due to complaints related to or exacerbated by mental or emotional disorders. We know substance abuse disorders co-occur with mental illnesses. We should treat mental health and substance abuse disorders the same way we treat other health complaints -- aggressively and compassionately," Faenza said.
"Mental, emotional and substance abuse disorders cause real pain and disrupt lives just as physical health problems do. They can be treated just like the flu, diabetes and cancer at little cost to our health system and with great savings to society." (Continued) Parity (Cont.)
A study released March 24 by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows full parity for mental health and substance abuse disorders will increase insurance costs by only 3.6 percent. Other researchers have said improved access to mental health treatments will decrease primary health care costs, reduce incarcerations and welfare rolls, and increase productivity in the work force.
"One in twenty adults has a serious mental illness and one in ten children has a serious emotional disorder. Research shows that without treatment, children with emotional disturbances often become teenage substance abusers, who in turn become adults with co-occurring serious mental illness and addiction," Faenza said.
"Most insurance is not generous, but most Americans are," Faenza said. A June 1997 poll for the National Mental Health Association found that 93 percent of Americans support an end to insurance discrimination against people with mental health care needs. Support for mental health parity does not vary by age, race, sex, income, or belief that a family member may or may not need mental health care.
Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota and Vermont have passed comprehensive parity legislation. Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Texas give parity to special populations, such as people with severe mental illnesses. Through trainings in the states, the National Mental Health Association helps grass roots coalitions of mental health consumers, family members, providers and advocates fight for parity.
"Parity in health insurance is a matter of civil rights," said Faenza. "Insurance firms discriminate against people with mental health and substance abuse disorders. By passing parity legislation, members of Congress will show they care deeply about all Americans."
The National Mental Health Association is the nation's oldest mental health consumer advocacy organization. NMHA has 330 affiliates with 416,000 volunteers serving two million Americans. For more information, or to arrange an interview with Michael Faenza, President and CEO of the National Mental Health Association, or with mental health consumers, contact Patrick Cody at NMHA: (703) 838-7528. Visit NMHA's web site at www.nmha.org
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