American Psychiatric Association Endorses Mental Health Bill
Dr. Susan Turner is a psychiatrist based in New York with more than 16 years of experience caring for patients in various medical centers. Throughout this time, Dr. Susan Turner has been a member of several professional organizations, such as the American Psychiatric Association (APA), an advocacy group dedicated to advancing mental health awareness across the country.
In this role, APA aims to help inform legislation at both the state and federal level and has recently shown support for the proposed Mental Health Parity Compliance Act. The bill, which looks to increase transparency and oversight with insurance agencies that provide mental health coverage, is sponsored by Republican senator Bill Cassidy and Democratic senator Chris Murphy.
APA president Bruce Schwartz, MD, claims that insurance companies have neglected to provide adequate coverage for people with mental health and substance abuse problems, which is what the proposed bill looks to rectify. He notes that the legislation will force such companies to treat these patients similarly to other patients and end discriminatory practices based on a person’s medical needs.
If enacted, the bill would be an enhancement of the 2008 federal parity law, which mandates that insurance companies cover mental health problems the same as any other medical need, although there is currently little oversight in this regard.
In this role, APA aims to help inform legislation at both the state and federal level and has recently shown support for the proposed Mental Health Parity Compliance Act. The bill, which looks to increase transparency and oversight with insurance agencies that provide mental health coverage, is sponsored by Republican senator Bill Cassidy and Democratic senator Chris Murphy.
APA president Bruce Schwartz, MD, claims that insurance companies have neglected to provide adequate coverage for people with mental health and substance abuse problems, which is what the proposed bill looks to rectify. He notes that the legislation will force such companies to treat these patients similarly to other patients and end discriminatory practices based on a person’s medical needs.
If enacted, the bill would be an enhancement of the 2008 federal parity law, which mandates that insurance companies cover mental health problems the same as any other medical need, although there is currently little oversight in this regard.
