Coming out of the shadows:

Covering mental health services

Every year, one in five Americans experiences mental illness. That’s 45 million adults and 10 million children. It is the second leading cause of disability and premature mortality.

For kids, untreated mental illness is especially devastating. It is the leading cause of hospitalization for those between the ages of 5 and 19. And tragically, it is a major factor in suicide being the second leading cause of death among Washington’s adolescents.

Mental illness needs diagnosis and treatment every bit as much as physical illness. So two years ago, Senate Democrats shepherded the mental health parity bill. With its passage, we took a giant step out of the shadows – mental illness was no longer something people felt ashamed of, kept hidden and felt uncomfortable discussing. We brought hope and help to 700,000 people in our state who need mental health services.

That legislation requires that coverage for mental health services be equal to coverage for other medical and surgical service. A first step, it applies to commercial insurance policies covering more than 50 employees, and to public employees and Basic Health programs offered by the Health Care Authority.

This year, Senate Democrats took the next step by requiring all insurance policies for groups and individuals include such coverage. By doing this, 540,000 residents covered by individual and small group plans will have this essential protection.

The cost increase — less than 1 percent — is more than offset with the savings coming from less absenteeism, fewer disability claims, better productivity and improved morale.

In addition to these benefits to the business community, we will save on health care costs. Mental health treatment reduces the need for expensive medical treatments such as emergency and hospital care. And it improves health outcomes for people with heart disease, chronic pain, diabetes, cancer and other serious diseases.

Senate Democrats have made it possible for more people to get the medical help they need to lead healthy, productive and successful lives.