Better mental health benefits sought

CARSON CITY -- Advocates for the mentally ill called on a legislative subcommittee Monday to boost insurance benefits equal to what is available for those suffering from physical ailments.

The subcommittee, headed by Assemblywoman Vivian Freeman, D-Reno, was told that most insurance policies in Nevada that include mental health coverage are limited when compared to medical and surgical insurance.

This issue is expected to be one of the thorny ones facing the 1999 Legislature.

Sharen Weaver, a manager in the state Division of Insurance, said most mental health policies limit doctor visits to 20 a year and in-patient treatment to 30 days. Insurance often pays only 50 percent of the bill for mental health treatment compared to 80 percent for medical treatment for physical illnesses or injuries.

Dr. Rita Harris, director of a mental health program at Washoe Medical Center in Reno, said there should be parity between mental health and physical health insurance coverage. Many large employers currently don't offer any insurance for mental ailments.

Sue Hawkins of Health Plan of Nevada, however, testified mental health benefits are offered in its policies. "But any new mandate increases costs," she told the subcommittee. "These are not free benefits."

Hawkins predicted that if the 1999 Legislature required greater mental health insurance coverage, that some employers, mostly small, would drop their workers coverage because of the higher costs. Health Plan is affiliated with Sierra Health Services Inc., which is based in Las Vegas.

The federal Mental Health Parity Act, which became effective Jan. 1 this year, applies to employers with 51 workers or more. It says that those employers who provide insurance coverage for mental health must have equal benefits.

Rosetta Johnson, president of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Nevada, testified people lose their cars, homes and families and sometimes end up homeless when struck by mental illness. There have no insurance coverage and "they are treated as second class citizens," she said.

Harris said national studies show there has been a 50 percent decrease in insurance payments for mental illness in the past 10 years. Coincidentally, she said, the 1997 Legislature raised the budget of the mental health division by 50 percent.

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