Legislation proposes mental, physical health care equality

State Rep. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) presented parity legislation last Tuesday that would require insurance companies to cover mental health care and physical health care equally.

"Illness of the brain is another illness just like that of the heart, brain or kidneys," Brater said. "It deserves equal treatment."

Brater is presenting a package of four bills - three which regulate insurance companies and one anti-discrimination bill. The anti-discrimination bill is an "amendment to the Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act," Brater said.

The overall benefits of covering mental health are great, Brater said. "If you invest in mental health care ... there will be less absenteeism, and less need for the emergency room," she said.

Psychologists and psychiatrists agree that mental illness is very treatable.

"For many years, mental health professionals have been lobbying for mental health parity," said Psychology Prof. James Hansell. "It provides an important step in the direction of treating mental disorders."

Psychiatry Prof. Oliver Cameron stressed the seriousness of mental illness, describing it as "the leading cause of disability and dysfunction" in the world. "The estimate is that it's going to be much worse in the next 30 years," he said.

Brater said she believes that treatment of mental health illness is just as important as treating a patient with a coronary bypass.

"Yet, we never question whether coronary care should be covered," Brater said.

Brater expects opposition of the legislation to come mainly from those who believe the costs are too high.

"Cost is almost always the issue," Cameron said.

But the cost must be balanced against the benefits, say supporters of parity legislation.

"Just in the matter of direct dollars, the increase in cost is about two to three percent," Cameron said. "It's not going to go up much."

Cameron also said that from a broader perspective, health care costs will go down if the bills are enacted.

"The overall cost leads to a benefit so that money is saved," Cameron said. "The data supports this; this is not solely opinion or a self-righteous attitude."

Cameron said there is a lot of lost productivity and work absenteeism due to mental illness.

"Even if you take the narrower view, there are a number of (mental) illnesses which lead to a significant increase in other kinds of health costs," Cameron said.

Opposition may also come from insurance companies and employers who are uncomfortable with the idea that someone will tell them how to spend money allocated for health care, Cameron said.

But Cameron called this argument "short-sighted."

"Most people don't know the impact of these illnesses until they happen to them," Cameron said.

The reluctance may be rooted in a societal misunderstanding of medical illness, Hansell said.

"There's been a stigma about mental health," Hansell said.

Hansell said that another concern associated with the parity legislation is that it could lead to an increase in managed care, since managed care is not required to cover mental illness.

Although it might take some time for the bills to pass, supporters are optimistic.

"It's not uncommon for laws to be introduced before the populous can really digest what they mean and get behind them and give them support," Cameron said.

05-11-98