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Recovery in the News
Congressmen push for better mental health coverage
Michelle R. Smith
Seattle Post Intelligencer
January 25, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- U.S. Reps. Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad on Tuesday held the first of several forums to build momentum for legislation that requires equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses.
Kennedy, D-R.I., has been open about his struggles with mental illness, including bipolar disorder and his entry into recovery for alcoholism and substance abuse last year. Ramstad, R-Minn., a recovering alcoholic, is Kennedy's recovery sponsor.
Both men said they hoped the hearings would work to dissolve the stigma associated with mental illness and addiction.
"We should not ignore the fact these are physical illnesses and they should be treated as such," Kennedy said. "Unfortunately, people regard these as moral issues that reflect the moral character of the person."
Ramstad said he was lucky to have had access to mental health care 25 years ago, after he woke up in jail after a drinking binge.
"I wouldn't be alive today were it not for the access I had to treatment back in 1981," Ramstad said. "It was just the beginning of a brand new way life."
Among those who spoke was Melinda Lemos-Jackson, whose son, Daniel, was diagnosed with autism in 1998, when he was 3. Later, he was also diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder.
She described the struggle her family has had getting its insurance company to cover care by a proper doctor, or cover the right kind of therapy. During the past year, her family built up $10,000 in debt and expenses for Daniel's care, such as speech therapists, psychologists and biofeedback, she said.
"Over the years, getting him the services we need cost a fortune," Lemos-Jackson said.
The legislation is named for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Minnesota Democrat who was a strong supporter of better mental health coverage.
Ramstad said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, had assured them the legislation they are co-sponsoring will come up for a vote this year, and he believes it could happen as soon as next month. In the last congressional session, the Republican leadership refused to bring it up for a vote, expressing concerns the legislation would drive up health insurance premiums.
On Tuesday, James Purcell, chief executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island, said a similar effort to bring equal status to mental health coverage in Rhode Island "didn't break the bank."
Still, Purcell said in Rhode Island there is not full parity on office visits, so the annual number of office visits a person can make for mental health care can be restricted, a policy he called bad medicine, bad law and bad insurance.
"Who are the people that are most likely going to need those extra visits? They're people who are really in tough shape," he said. "Where do they end up? In the emergency room."
He said Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island supported mental health parity.
"The combination of behavioral health and physical health is key," he said.
The other public forums are scheduled in Minneapolis, Rockville, Md., Los Angeles and Vancouver, Wash.
After the hearing, when asked about his own recovery, Kennedy said he was feeling great and that work on this issue was "uplifting."
"Part of recovery is helping other people because you get to focus outside yourself," he said.
He said he felt closely connected to the team of people he was working with on the issue, many of whom are in recovery as well.
"Connection is the antidote to depression. Connection is the antidote to alcoholism and addiction as well," Kennedy said. "Connection is the antidote to the void that leads to that disease."
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