Mental health parity approved

Tuesday, June 1, 1999 | 11:10 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A scaled-down mental health parity bill was unanimously approved by the Assembly Monday after one supporter said it will allow "a broken mind to be treated the same way as a broken arm."

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said Senate Bill 557 means Nevada will join 25 other states in requiring insurance companies to provide mental health coverage at similar levels as physical ailments.

She said this was a "wonderful start" and praised Gov. Kenny Guinn, the insurance industry and mental health advocates for forging a compromise. It's not as much as mental health advocates sought, she said, but it's a beginning.

But Dr. Gary Lenkeit, a Las Vegas psychologist who lobbied heavily for full parity, said early today that he was disappointed that Senate Bill 557 was so limited in its coverage. He said most people aren't diagnosed with severe mental illness until their teenage years. He said early treatment of mental illness in children and trauma victims were left out of the bill.

"The counseling for traumatic victims, such as those survivors at the Columbine High School shooting wouldn't be covered in this bill," Lenkeit said. "Children who might have other forms of depression and other behavior disorders also aren't covered. This only covers major depression."

An amended version of Assembly Bill 293 guaranteeing full parity originally passed the Legislature, but Guinn questioned the additional cost that it might add to insurance policies for employers.

Lenkeit said full parity in AB293 would add only 1.2 percent to the cost of a policy, based on a cost analysis conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers for the Nevada Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association.

Advocates demonstrated last week outside the Capitol, where the governor's office is located, urging Guinn to sign the legislation.

Guinn called the parties together and they reached a consensus.

Companies with 25 employees or less would not be required to buy the mental health coverage.

The compromise calls for the coverage of severe mental disorders.

The policy must cover 40 days of hospitalization a year and 40 visits to a psychiatrist or other counselor. Patients can trade a day of hospitalization for two days of outpatient treatment.

If the insurance company shows there is an increase in cost of more than 2 percent in one year, the company can cancel the benefits. The commissioner of insurance would determine whether the cost has increased by the more than 2 percent.