Mental health mandate approved by Senate panel

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 9:18 a.m.

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, was the lone "no" vote as SB356 movved to the Senate floor.

Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, who authored SB356, said passing the bill without amendments was a "large victory for people with needs and for the social service system."

Advocates for the mentally ill had told lawmakers that many people with schizophrenia, depression or other brain disorders usually have no insurance coverage, or so little coverage it runs out before their treatment is completed.

The advocates said the cost for extending health coverage to include brain disorders under a managed health plan would be about 1 percent.

But representatives from the insurance industry said that figure is between 3 percent and 4 percent. That small increase doesn't sound like much, but they said national studies show for each 1 percent increase in the cost of insurance, 200,000 people lose their coverage.

Social workers, hospital administrators, nurses, doctors, pharmaceutical companies and mental health advocates support SB356. All say mental health is biologically based and should be covered under health plans.

Officials from the Division of Mental Hygiene and Mental Retardation provided services to 11,592 people last year - and half of them didn't have insurance.