Social Workers Support Full Mental Health Parity!

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and other supporters of mental health parity legislation will join U.S. Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Representatives Marge Roukema (R-NJ) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), and those who have been directly affected by the lack of mental health parity on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, to rally Congress to pass the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act on June 6, 2002, at 12:00 p.m.

Clinical social workers, one of the core mental health professions, are the largest providers of mental health services in the United States. In rural areas, social workers are often the ONLY providers of mental health services. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 44.3 million Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, or 1 in 5, and only 14.6 million receive treatment.

Additionally, untreated mental health disorders create huge costs for business and economy. The U.S. Surgeon General’s 1999 Report on Mental Health also found that lost productivity and absenteeism due to untreated mental health disorders cost American businesses $70 billion annually.

“Many health plans unfairly single out mental illness with high co-payments, deductibles, and limits that are extremely restrictive, forcing many to go without treatment,” says Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, NASW Executive Director. “Often times, untreated mental illness leads to poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, and homelessness,” she adds.

The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act aims to fix this form of discrimination. The legislation requires group health plans that provide mental health benefits to do so without arbitrary limits that differ from limits applied tomedical and surgical care. This is the same health coverage currently available to Members of Congress, federal employees and their families.

Media outlets: For more information on mental health parity, please contact NASW Public Affairs at 202-336-8228 or email lcurry@naswdc.org.

Social Workers: For those interested in attending the rally, please contact Lakitia Mayo at lmayo@naswdc.org. To write a letter to your member of Congress asking him or her to support mental health parity, please go to NASW’s Congress Web at www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 153,000 members. It promotes, develops and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families and communities through its work and through its advocacy.