Timothy’s Law
April 7th, 2004Not library-related at all. Sorry.
I read an article in Newsday yesterday about a 12 year old boy who hanged himself in his closet due to his mental-illness (Depression, ADHD, and ODD). A very sad story. One that could have been prevented if the insurance laws in NY didn’t discriminate against those with mental illnesses. By only allowing 20 outpatient visits and 30 days of inpatient care (the insurance industry standard), Timothy could have gotten better treatment than he did. His parents are now fighting for a new law that would substantially level the playing field between physical and mental illness and insurance coverage. Good for them.
After suffering from my panic/anxiety issues, I learned that I had similar restrictions on psychiatric/therapy care (both inpatient and outpatient) in my health plan, one that I am playing a lot of money for. Someone in my PPO can visit their doctor as many times as they want for physical ailments (and pay the co-pay), but I can only see my therapist/psychiatrist 30 times per calendar year (same co-pay)? Unbalanced? You bet! Discriminatory? You bet! Thank goodness that my Psychiatrist is also going to be providing my therapy because I would be wasting my “session time” going to an MD, just to get refills for my medication.
The crazy thing is that if Timothy’s law passes, it will only cost $1.26 per person per month!! (think about how far your library tax bill goes and this number is even more staggering). Good for Timothy’s parents for doing something that will hopefully ensure that those with mental disabilities get the help they need from insurance companies that they pay so much money into.