Should mental illness and substance abuse receive the same health insurance coverage as diabetes, asthma or other chronic diseases and disorders?

That question and others on mental health issues were discussed at a Congressional field hearing Tuesday at the UC Davis MIND Institute in Sacramento.

Sacramento-area U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) organized the event along with U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.). Among those providing expertise at the hearing were Joseph Sison, an associate clinical professor in the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Helen Thompson, a Yolo County supervisor and former state lawmaker.

The hearing featured remarks from a variety of invited experts and patient advocates, all of who noted the significant economic and social costs of leaving mental health and addiction problems uninsured and untreated.

Matsui, who told the audience that her own sister had suffered for many years from debilitating mental illness, noted the inequities in current insurance coverage and indicated that Congress will soon be considering the issue.

"We want to make sure that mental health is treated the same as any other illness," said Matsui. "What we do here today is a step toward bringing the struggles of so many Americans into the light. In essence, I think that this is about the right of every patient to access the health care he or she needs in an affordable and equitable way."

Kennedy said holding the hearing at the MIND Institute seemed appropriate because of its research and clinical work in finding better treatments for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

"This is such an example of a national model," said Kennedy, also appeared on campus later Tuesday to discuss mental health issues with students.

Sison emphasized that if untreated, mental illnesses can have the same costly impacts on individual patients, family members and, ultimately, the general public as other medical diseases like cancer and heart disease.

"The reality is that all of these disorders are similarly debilitating," said Sison, in his prepared remarks. "The only difference is that the organ that is affected in mental illness is the brain, whereas the organ affected in those classified as medical illnesses are in other organs of the body."

Insurance issues

Thompson pointed to several Field Institute polls and a RAND study to underscore both public support for equity in mental health coverage and to offer evidence that providing parity in benefits would not cause insurance premiums to rise or force employers to drop health coverage.

This week's field hearing is just one in a number of forums around the country that Kennedy is attending as part of his effort aimed at highlighting the need for mental health parity legislation.

Both Kennedy and Matsui are preparing to help reintroduce federal legislation next month that is designed to ensure that health plans offer what he has termed "fair coverage for mental health care."

The legislation would expand the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act by requiring group health plans that offer benefits for mental health and addiction to do so on the same terms as care for other diseases.

Charles Casey is a senior public information officer for the health system.