New York Times Examines Trend of Insurers Denying Individual Coverage for People with Mental Illnesses

The New York Times on July 30 examines the difficulties some people with mental illnesses face in attempting to purchase individual health insurance policies. Although the "social stigma" surrounding mental illness has somewhat faded, many insurers remain "hesitant" to offer individual policies to a person with a history of depression, anxiety, manic depression, schizophrenia or other mental illnesses, the New York Times reports. There are no statistics on how many people have been denied health policies because of a mental illness, but the "problem occurs enough to trouble mental health professionals." Insurers maintain that denying policies for individuals with mental illnesses or giving them policies with high premiums is "a matter of math"; insurers generally assume that any patient with an existing medical condition or a psychiatric history will likely need more care in the future than a person with no such background, the Times reports. However, advocates for the mentally ill say that insurers incorrectly assume that all types of depression are costly to treat, when in fact the "biggest costs" come from untreated mental illnesses. "Eighty-five percent of people with depression can be brought into remission if treated. That's a higher rate than medical illnesses like diabetes," Dr. Doris Gundersen, associate professor of psychology at the Health Sciences Center at the University of Colorado, said (Freinkel, New York Times, 7/30). The complete story is available online.