Mental health parity bill passes Senate

OLYMPIA – Calling it an issue of fairness, Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, shepherded a mental health parity measure, House Bill 1460, through the state Senate Friday. It is the companion to her own effort, Senate Bill 5446.

“Two years ago, we set a course to put the treatment of a mental illness on the same footing as a physical illness,” Keiser said. “We passed legislation that requires commercial health policies covering more than 50 employees to offer coverage for mental illness on a par with that offered for other illnesses. Now we continue that course by requiring individual and small group plans to do the same.”

Keiser pointed out that the issue is a serious health concern, with one in five Americans diagnosed each year with a mental illness. For the 10 million children so affected, untreated mental illness is especially devastating, being the leading cause of hospitalization for kids between the ages of 5 and 19. And tragically, Keiser said, it is a major factor in suicide being the second leading cause of death among Washington adolescents. Mental illness is also the second leading cause of disability and premature mortality.

“By passing this bill, we make several important accomplishments,” Keiser said. “We make it possible for more people to get the medical help they need. We help the business community by reducing the employee turnover and lost productivity that occur when workers are fighting mental illness. And we ultimately keep health care costs down by making it easier for individuals to get help before they have to turn to emergency rooms for care.”

The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, passed by a 41 to 3 vote; it now moves to the governor, who is expected to sign it into law.

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