Saturday, October 11, 2008

Something good in the Economic Bail Out Plan!

A discussion in the Washington Post this week revealed something I missed in the bail out plan . It included a passage of a new law “that would require parity or equal coverage for mental health and addiction services, usually limited under most insurance policies.” Hey this is good news for people who have insurance! The most generous insurance coverage to date for opiate addiction inpatient 30 days, 90 extended care and another six months of transitional living with multiple detox treatments for relapses.

According to Michael Gimbel, an addiction specialist, the economic bail out bill contained a parity bill for addictions and mental health. He said that what that means is that insurance has to treat addictions and mental health problems the same as medical problems.

If you have read the Rabbit Trap, Lexie's mom decided she did not need further help because their insurance had run out for Lexie's treatment. I am not sure that Lexie's mom would have had made that decision if insurance coverage was more extensive. Money issues I am sure help make decisions like this in everyone's lives.

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