Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007

PAUL WELLSTONE MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION EQUITY ACT OF 2007 -- (Extensions of Remarks - March 06, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. MARCY KAPTUR
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008

* Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that yesterday Congress was able to pass the long overdue Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, finally vowing to end the discrepancy of health care and treatment available to patients with mental illness and addiction disorders. I commend Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Ramstad for their steadfast and courageous efforts to bring this bill, and even more so, this issue, to the forefront of this Congress. This bill seeks to establish parity in coverage between mental health care and other forms of health care, ensuring greater access to treatment.

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* There are countless stories of Americans, including my own constituents in Ohio's 9th District, who are struggling not only with their mental illness, but with the costs of trying to treat it. Our local jails are jammed with inmates who present with serious mental illness as our sheriffs become innkeepers for the untreated mentally ill. Mental illness affects the majority of homeless in our Nation. Treating those who suffer from these cruel illnesses is long overdue. Following are accounts that show a striking difference among my constituents (whose names have been changed for privacy reasons) who have the necessary health coverage to help mange their illness, with those who do not.

* Carol is a young woman not yet 30 years old, who had managed to hide her paranoid schizophrenia for several years with treatment until a recent breakdown exposed it in a very public way. She'd lost her job--and thus her health insurance--and was struggling. She had no way to afford COBRA payments, and without health insurance, had to stop treatment. The voices in her head told her to eat bananas and drink beer, and then to drive. After following these instructions, she was picked up by the local police for driving under the influence. It was then that her parents became aware of her true condition. Because she had no health insurance, they could not find a place which would admit her for proper treatment. Her court case for the DUI was placed on suspension because, in her state of psychotic crisis, she could not participate in her own defense. Her parents finally found a counselor through the community mental health system, but her medical bills continue to mount.

* Mary's situation is similarly devastating. A single mother raising four children, Mary works in a job which does not offer health insurance. Although she has purchased a private policy, it is very limited and has additional restrictions on mental health care. Mary's teenage son began to experience severe mental health problems and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She found care in a private facility, but reached her insurance limit quickly. Now without the ability to pay for his care, she has found it very difficult to successfully continue his treatment. He has since encountered legal difficulty, and has been placed in a juvenile justice center.

* With comprehensive health coverage, Bob's situation is much more fortunate, and a model for how things should be. Bob is a professional with a well-paying job and a young family. However, a crisis sent him into a downward spiral ending in depression. His full insurance coverage afforded him the ability to ``shop around'' as they struggled to find him proper treatment. Bob eventually sought help through a private inpatient treatment facility. Following his stay, he and his family have continued the intensive therapy he was prescribed, which has enabled him to return to a life of productivity and has restored a sense of normalcy in his family.

* The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act will go a long way in ensuring that there are more success stories like Bob's, and fewer situations like that of Carol and Mary. And, by breaking down the barriers to treatment, this bill will also help erase the unfortunate stigma that prevents those in need of mental health and addiction treatment from seeking the care they need.

* The Wellstone bill moves America forward and brings hope to millions who know the scourge of mental illness.

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