Mental health parity bill resurfaces

Jennifer Coleman

Monday, May 31, 1999 | 3:46 a.m.

CARSON CITY - An 11th-hour bill requiring insurers to cover some mental illnesses won final approval Monday, the last day of the 1999 session.

SB557, introduced Sunday by Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, and Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, requires insurers to cover schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Those illnesses have the best success rates with new medicine that's available, Leslie said. People who have those illnesses are also the ones who get violent if not treated, she added.

"For Nevada to do something progressive on a social issue, well, it feels great to be one of the first 25 states, instead of the last 10 states with this policy," she said.

Copayments and deductibles paid for mental health-related services could be not greater than 150 percent of the out-of-pocket expenses for other medical benefits under the plan.

The bill doesn't apply to businesses with less than 25 employees. Insurers will be exempt, if they can prove to the insurance commissioner that mental health coverage would raise premiums by more than 2 percent.

Leslie says the provision is fine. She says studies show that full mental health parity increases costs by less than 1 percent.

The measure was the third attempt by Townsend to pass a mental health parity act this session. His first bill was killed by a 9-9 vote in the Senate. The second attempt was an amendment to another bill, which Gov. Kenny Guinn refused to sign.

SB557 is a compromise between the insurance industry, which says mandating coverage will drive prices up and cause businesses to cancel policies, and mental health advocates, who say mental illness is a biological disorder and should be covered by medical insurance.

The agreement was assisted by Guinn, who wanted to make sure any required coverage didn't place an undue burden on small businesses.

The measure passed the Senate late Sunday on a 15-3 vote. It won unanimous Assembly approval early Monday.