FREE HEALTH INSURANCE QUOTES Start here...

Select Insurance Type:

Individual Health Family Health Group Health Small Business Health Short Term Health Medicare Supplemental Travel Insurance

Zip code:

The Anchorage Daily News is right to support Rep. Don Young, who co-sponsored and voted for a bill requiring equal coverage for mental illnesses under health insurance.

Such a move could certainly work to de-stigmatize mental illness, and to offer treatment to millions of Americans whose lives could be vastly improved by such a service. The bill specifically requires that when an insurance policy covers both mental and physical illness, the coverage must be equal. And, it would no longer be legal to cover just a few mental conditions, or to require higher co-payments for mental health benefits.

Unfortunately, by not mandating that health insurance agencies offer mental health provisions, this same bill could easily do more damage than good.

After all, why would insurance companies choose to lose money, as will invariably happen if they add mental health coverage under the new bill? Without forcing companies to offer the coverage, many of them just won't, leaving those with mental illnesses to struggle without what little help they've already had.

Perhaps a mandate will soon follow, especially if agencies should suddenly stop offering mental health services. In the mean time, those who do enjoy mental health coverage with their health insurance should take advantage of it, and enjoy the benefits of body and mind that a good insurance policy can offer.