Insurance companies strike back ... so beware

Should it be any surprise that the primary foe to mental health parity is big business?

Just ask Christine Stearns, vice president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, who says the insurance industry should be spared from contributing toward mental health treatment.

With health insurance costs rising at four-times the rate of inflation, New Jersey should not require employers to pay for "virtually unlimited coverage" for treatment of substance abuse and a wide range of behavioral problems, Stearns says.

Stearns said New Jersey employers saw their health insurance costs rise by a cumulative 55 percent in four years (2001 to 2004). Businesses participating in NJBIA’s 2005 Health Benefits Survey reported paying an 11 percent average increase in the cost of providing health insurance to their employees in 2004. Their average cost was $7,300 per employee.

Adding new mandatory coverages at a time when employers cannot even keep up with current health insurance cost increases is "bad public policy," Stearns says.

“Many employers have reached the breaking point," Stearns says. "Imposing this mandate will cost real people all of their health insurance benefits. Not only will they have no access to treatment for behavioral disorders, but they will lose coverage for hospitalization, prescription drugs, doctor visits, blood tests, and everything else.”

Furthermore, insurance plans are already required to cover serious mental health illnesses and most insurance plans already provide coverage for substance abuse, although not the unlimited coverage that would be mandated under A-807.

“It’s not just a question of whether or not employers should provide this coverage,” Stearns said. “It’s a question of priorities. Should we require unlimited treatments for

Stearns also says such a mandate would not apply to all insurance plans; only those sold in the state’s regulated market, which insures only about 2.4 million residents. Almost all small businesses (those with two to 50 employees) that provide health benefits are in the regulated market, so this mandate would be imposed on the small employers who would be least able to afford it, she said.

But Debra L. Wentz, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, Inc., says mental health insurance parity would provide stability for employers who routinely deal with staff-level emotional and behavioral issues.

“Treatments for mental illness have been proven effective and can help individuals achieve a fulfilling life of recovery. However, there are many barriers, including inadequate funding and stigma, that prevent children and adults from receiving the therapy and other support services they need,” she said.

Pink Floyd - Mother Lyrics

Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother, do you think they'll like this song?
Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Ooooowaa Mother, should I build a wall?
Mother, should I run for President?
Mother, should I trust the government?
Mother, will they put me in the firing line?
Ooooowaa Is it just a waste of time?
Hush, my baby. Baby, don't you cry.
Momma's gonna make all of your nightmares come true.
Momma's gonna put all of her fears into you.
Momma's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Momma's gonna keep Baby cozy and warm.
Oooo Babe.
Oooo Babe.
Ooo Babe, of course Momma's gonna help build a wall.
Mother, do you think she's good enough,
For me?
Mother, do you think she's dangerous,
To me?
Mother will she tear your little boy apart?
Ooooowaa Mother, will she break my heart?
Hush, my baby. Baby, don't you cry.
Momma's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you.
Momma won't let anyone dirty get through.
Momma's gonna wait up until you get in.
Momma will always find out where you've been.
Momma's gonna keep Baby healthy and clean.
Oooo Babe.
Oooo Babe.
Ooo Babe, you'll always be Baby to me.
Mother, did it need to be so high?