Mental Health America Applauds Senate: Urges Passage of Mental Health Parity

Mental Health America praised the Senate for recent steps taken to end discriminatory mental health insurance practices and they now urge them to take that step further and pass the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 (S. 558). According to Mental Health America, the legislation will go a long way to put an end to mental health insurance discrimination. They also acknowledged their appreciation of two of the bill's sponsors, Senators Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who lead the charge to pass S. 558. With the passage of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, Americans can expect to see greater equality between mental health care coverage and for general health.

David Shern, president and CEO of Mental Health America, feels that the passage of this widely supported legislation is "public policy finally catching up with science." There is a tangible link between a person's overall health and their state of mind. This fact has been repeatedly proven with generous amounts of research and is well-known within the medical community. At your last doctor's visit, your doctor most likely asked you what was currently going on in your life, right? If he didn't, he's not garnering the full picture in order to diagnose and treat your condition. Many health related issues have their roots in mind-related problems. For example, headaches are not only be caused by health-related issues, but by depression as well. You might have originally went to the doctor to find out the cause of the headaches, but diagnosis lead in another direction, perhaps towards seeking a counselor or psychiatrist. The passage of S. 558 will make that possibility not such a financial hardship as it was in prior years.