Sat Nov 07 2009
By HEATHER BAUGHMAN
In late 2006, the Ohio legislature passed a mental health parity law, one of 35 states (at that time) to recognize biologically-based mental illness as a health concern that deserves equal treatment to medical and physical illnesses. Now, with the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), mental health parity has gone national.
Subtitled the "Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008," the 33-page section of the EESA calls for companies of 50 or more employees to include equal benefits and coverage for medical, surgical and mental health or substance use disorders.
"We have made a public policy statement that mental illness is a real illness," said Lou Levy, communications officer at the Four County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMhs). "Part of the advantage of having the national parity law, if you have healthcare, your mental healthcare will not be treated as a lesser illness," he said.
"One of the issues with mental health," he added, "a lot of times people don't think it's a real illness," that people just need to think happier thoughts and their problems will go away.
"If you have a broken arm, you don't just 'think' it better," he said. Instead, you seek medical treatment. Now, people across the country whose health insurance covers mental illness will have the same benefits, eliminating higher deductibles and co-payments for mental health, making it easier for them to seek treatment for their mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoia and other psychotic disorders.
"One advantage (of the national mental health provision) is recognizing that mental illnesses are medical illnesses," Levy said. "You can get treatment and you can make it better."
When Ohio passed its mental health parity bill in December 2006, the bill did not cover any substance abuse disorders, an issue that was included in the EESA bill. Because of the national bill, "The Ohio plan would be preempted by the national plan in terms of substance abuse disorders, if it is covered by a health insurance plan," Levy said.
On a national level, with Ohio already having parity for its mental and medical coverage, people moving out of state will no longer have to worry if their mental health coverage will continue on equal terms. With national parity, "You can count on this being in place as long as you (work somewhere that has) 50 or more employees," a minimum for the national law, Levy said.
Though the law does make mental health treatment more affordable to people with applicable insurance coverage, Levy said there is still concern for a population of people who are not covered. Both the state and national parity laws "apply to a job that offers healthcare. (However,) a lot of people work in jobs that maybe don't offer healthcare or the healthcare is very limited."
At the ADAMhs board, Levy said he has seen these stressful economic times as a trigger for some people with mental issues. "Stress can be a contributing factor to a mental illness manifesting itself," Levy said. "Add environmental factors and you might have a relapse if you suffer from depression."
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