Ehrlich on Washington column, March 24, 2002

с MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Rood, Suit* 304 briharflU*, Morylood 2 1 093 315 Cannon House Office Building Wellington, D.C 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of March 24, 2002 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Mental Health: A Priority for Congress and Maryland Imagine you are an older person suffering from a difficult physical ailment. As you fight your illness, you fall victim to depression and require mental health treatment. Remarkably, you discover Medicare will pay only half your copayment rates for outpatient psychiatric services, but far more to cover your physical illness. Likewise, if you are a working parent of kids with good health coverage, you could face similar disparities in your health plan. If you or your child needs treatment for a mental illness, your private employer-based coverage could be far less comprehensive than your physical health insurance coverage, leaving you struggling to pay your bill and pay for the care you need. This scenario is an unfortunate reality for millions of American families, including thousands of Marylanders. It is a stigma against mental health treatment which has persisted far too long. As a member of the House Subcommittee on Health, I believe Congress must reform Medicare to eliminate inequalities in health treatment. Accordingly, I have joined several of my colleagues in Congress to strengthen mental health parity. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 599, the Medicare Mental Illness Nondiscrimination Act of 2001, which amends Medicare to eliminate special copayment rates for outpatient psychiatric services and gives seniors far better mental health coverage. In addition, I joined seven of my colleagues in the House on March 20 as an original cosponsor of The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2002. This common-sense, compassionate legislation requires employers with 50 or more employees who provide physical health insurance to provide mental health benefits at the same level of coverage. My legislation will give millions of Americans with insurance the access to far better mental health treatment. In Maryland, I supported similar legislation as a state delegate in 1994. While 32 states have some form of mental health parity, this federal legislation will ensure that all Americans who have physical coverage can also access mental health insurance. C