Health Policy Report Rounds Up State Action on Mental Health Issues
With mental health coverage emerging as a top issue in health care across the nation, several states have addressed the issue in recent weeks. A summary of the news coverage on this issue appears below.
- Kansas: The state Senate last week passed a bill that would expand insurance coverage for mental illnesses but would "sto[p] short of requiring parity with coverage of physical illnesses." Under the legislation, which passed on a 27-13 vote, insurers must cover a minimum of 45 inpatient days and 45 outpatient visits for treatment of mental illnesses. The bill also would eliminate the $7,500 cap on mental illness coverage during a patient's lifetime. While bill would expand mental health coverage to those with private health insurance plans -- about 35% to 40% of residents with health insurance market -- the plan would not apply to "so-called self insurance plans." The bill now returns to the state House, where lawmakers will consider amendments added by the state Senate. The House version of the legislation (HB 2033) calls only for a study of whether requiring mental health parity would increase health insurance costs (Myers, Topeka Capital-Journal, 3/21);
- Arizona: The Arizona Daily Star reports that state children should receive "better" mental health care under an settlement reached last week between the state and disability advocates. Under the agreement, which ended a "decade-long" class action lawsuit alleging that mentally ill children did not receive "proper assessments or treatments," Arizona will spend about $2 million to train caseworkers statewide over the next three years. The state also will boost the number of behavioral health specialists and provide "respite care" for children. However, the "bulk" of the plan "focuses on changing the way children receive treatment" (Bodfield Sander, Arizona Daily Star, 3/21). Meanwhile, an Arizona Republic editorial argues that despite the "[d]ark clouds" on the "economic horizon," the state should allocate $150 million over two years to bolster mental health services -- part of Proposition 204 passed by voters last fall. While the editorial admits that the move "will not be easy," the Republic concludes, "[I]t will be right" (Arizona Republic, 3/18);
- Connecticut: Arguing that Gov. John Rowland's (R) proposals to expand mental health services "don't go far enough," state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan (D) has called for spending an additional $50 million on treatment and intervention programs for children and adults. Sullivan proposed spending $15 million to help establish 250 "supportive housing units" for those suffering from mental illness; $20 million to expand "Connecticut Community KidCare," a network of mental health services for children; and $15 million to expand community services for adults. Rowland's spokesperson Dean Pagani called Sullivan's proposal "an interesting plan worthy of consideration" (Chedekel, Hartford Courant, 3/20);
- Rhode Island: During a task force hearing to "reexamine" the state's 1994 mental health parity law, mental health advocates urged lawmakers to eliminate "definitions and restrictions that many think limit its effectiveness," the Providence Journal reports. The law only includes "any mental disorder that current medical science affirms is caused by a biological disorder of the brain," but excludes other conditions, such as anorexia. In addition, mental health advocates "questioned" insurers' arguments that mental health parity "costs too much," citing statistics that indicate such laws raise costs "very little" -- 1% to 2% "at most." Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty (R), who conducted the hearing, supports a "comprehensive approach" to mental health parity and may propose or "throw his support behind" legislation "calling for across-the-board" parity (Freyer, Providence Journal, 3/23).
