Health Benefit Parity for Addiction & Mental Health Treatment
As the debate over healthcare in the United States continues to heat up, it is important to remember that most insurance plans do not adequately cover the necessary treatment for Addictions or Mental Illness. These benefits are typically separated from other medical benefits in healthcare policies and are severely limited either in terms of treatment options or dollar limits. While most medical treatment is guided by various medical associations and societies, insurers refuse to use treatment guidelines put forth by the American Society of Addiction Medicine or the American Psychiatric Association. Kaiser Permanente studies as well as studies by the Center for Alcoholism and Substance Abuse at Columbia University have shown that parity actually saves healthcare dollars and the cost of consequential damages to businesses and families.
We the undersigned request an end to the stigma and discrimination against those in our country who suffer from addictive illness and/or mental illness. We ask that all healthcare policies provide the same level of treatment coverage for these illnesses as is provided for all other illnesses covered by medical insurers. Research has demonstrated that these illnesses are no different then any other chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes and COPD) and in fact they have been shown to have much lower incidents of relapse then any other chronic disorders currently covered by medical insurers.
In short we seek parity in insurance coverage for the treatment of Addictions and Mental Illness. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
