Groundbreaking Mental Health Legislation Passes...

From the Chicago Tribune:

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2008/10/groundbreaking.html

For more than a dozen years, advocates have fought to lift restrictions on mental health coverage in insurance policies.

On Friday, they won an enormous victory when Congress passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

The law doesn’t require health insurers to cover mental health care. But if they do, they’ll have to treat psychological and addictive disorders just as they do other medical conditions.

Put another way, insurers will no longer be able to limit the number of visits or charge higher deductibles and co-payments for mental health and substance abuse services.

“If you have insurance, then your mental health care must be equal to the benefits you get for any other disease,” said Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), quoted in a Reuters article. His daughter has schizophrenia.

President Bush signed the bill into law after it was tacked onto the $700 billion financial bailout bill the House of Representatives passed 263-171 on Friday.

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I never thought I would say this, but I am thankful for a piece of "pork" that Pete Dommenici tacked on to a major bill. Oddly, this one may indeed save lives. It may not seem so, but it is a major advance for those who have had, or have mental illness.

a shot in the arm. Many have been struggling because insurance hasn't paid enough. And we do have many people in this country who have substance abuse problems. This could help them recover. At least this is a start. Bush would never have signed this if it were a stand alone bill..

Part of my job was to help people prepare to get back into the world after being hospitalized.
We had many who were trapped in the hospital for long periods because there was no money to pay for the medication that had to be in place in order for them to be discharged.
I hope this will be of some help.

FWIW, maybe Bush will find a good substance abuse program after he loses his job. That might help, too.

mark

Seems like an inside joke...

if I still had health insurance.