Memorandum
in Support of Timothy's Law
A.2912 - Assemblyman Tonko
The Social Work Alliance, consisting of the New York State and
New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
and 1199/SEIU strongly supports the passage of Timothy's Law (A.2912).
Under the leadership of Assemblyman Paul Tonko, this legislation
seeks to require that insurance providers and Health Maintenance
Organizations provide mental health and chemical dependency treatment
consistent with health services currently covered by insurers,
eliminate discriminatory caps on benefits, and eradicate the current
policy of charging higher deductibles and co-payments for mental
health services.
The Social Work Alliance calls for the New York State Legislature
to provide all New Yorkers with access to mental health and substance
abuse. In New York, insurers limit the number of inpatient and
outpatient mental health visits per year and charge higher deductibles,
co-payments, and/or co-insurance than they do for treatment for
physical health services. As a result of the lack of insurance
equality, people with chronic mental illness and recurring symptoms
often forgo necessary treatment or deplete their own personal
resources to pay for their care.
Research has continually shown that treatment works and is cost
effective. According to the National Institute for Mental Health,
the success rate for treatment of a first episode of schizophrenia
is 60%, the rate for major depression is 65% to 70%, and the success
rate for treating bipolar disorder is 80%. The success rate for
angioplasty (an insurance covered procedure) is only 41%!
According to the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, one
in five children have a diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral
disorder and up to 1 in 10 may suffer from a serious emotional
disturbance. They reported that 70 percent of children, however,
do not receive mental health services.
Parents of children diagnosed with a mental illness are often
forced to relinquish support. Moreover, a majority of those polled,
support parity even if it means that they would have to pay an
additional $1-$7 per enrollee per month to assure that they or
a family member had access to adequate mental health insurance
coverage.
Furthermore, a recent actuarial study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers
estimates that the passage of Timothy's Law would only increase
premiums by $1.26 per employee per month. In a recent follow up
to the study a Zogby poll found that 81% of New Yorkers stated
that they were willing to pay the $1.26 increase for full insurance
coverage for mental and chemical dependency health care needs.
The Social Work Alliance urges the New York State Legislature
to provide all New Yorkers with the necessary access to mental
health and chemical dependency treatment that will undoubtedly
save lives. Support A.2912.
