Washington Watch
Nuture Your Faith with Advocacy
by Carolynn Race
 One
simple way to nurture our faith is to get involved in problems
that defy our sense of justice, such as the unequal treatment
of mental and physical illnesses. Many health plans unfairly
treat coverage for mental health benefits by imposing copayments,
deductibles or limits on outpatient visits that are more restrictive
than those placed on physical illness.
We need to ask members of Congress, "How are you responding
to the needs of those who are marginalized in our society?"
Those who suffer from serious mental health illnesses, including
more than 35 million people in the United States, too often receive
inadequate medical care and are socially isolated and outcast
because of the stigma attached to these illnesses. In order to
respond to this, the 213th General Assembly (2001) of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) approved an overture that urged passage of legislation
requiring insurance plans to provide mental health benefits equivalent
to medical and surgical benefits. As noted in the overture rationale,
"Jesus calls us to ministries of healing and comfort with
the outcasts of society."
Further, "insurance parity marks a commitment to effective
treatment for the mentally ill and to ending insurance discrimination
against the mentally ill."
This year, congressional leaders introduced the Senator Paul
Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003 (S. 486
and H.R. 953) that, if passed, will require insurance plans to
provide parity for mental health benefits.
Carolynn Race is associate for domestic poverty and environmental
issues in the Presbyterian Washington Office.
Learn more about mental health illnesses
from these groups
· Presbyterian Serious Mental Illness Network (PSMIN),
a network of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association
(PHEWA): 888/728-7228, ext. 5800; www.pcusa.org/phewa/psmin
· National Mental Health Association: 703/684-7722;
www.nmha.org
Call the Capitol Switchboard, 202/224-3121,
to speak with your senators and representative. Ask them to support
the Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment
Act, and tell them that it is vital that this legislation be
passed in order to end insurance discrimination against people
who have mental disorders. Tell them a story about how this legislation
would impact your life or the life of someone you know.
For more information, contact the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington,
DC 20002; 202/543-1126; fax 202/543-7755; www.pcusa.org.
Read more of this and other
great articles in the current issue of Horizons.
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