Rosalynn Carter: W.H. fixes mental health gap

[Tx4obama]

Rosalynn Carter: W.H. fixes mental health gap

12/6/13

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter found herself shaking with excitement when she recently heard from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the administration had issued a milestone mental health insurance rule, correcting “one of the greatest disappointments” of her life.

In an interview for the latest installment of CSPAN’s First Ladies series — for which Carter is the first living First Lady interviewed — Carter reflected on her efforts in the last days of the Carter administration to pass a mental health parity law that would expand access to mental health services across the United States.

“We toured the country, found out what was needed, developed legislation and passed the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. It passed through Congress one month before Jimmy, as he says was, ‘involuntarily retired’ from the White House,” Carter said. “[A]nd the incoming president put it on the shelf. Never implemented it. It was one of the greatest disappointments of my life.”

Mental health parity refers to the requirement that health insurance companies treat mental health and substance abuse benefits no differently than physical health services. When the administration last month issued a final rule on the implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 — an expansion of similar legislation passed in 1996 — the former first lady’s efforts were finally realized.

“As soon as I heard it, I started shaking, you know? I mean, this is 33 years after I called; I had wanted it, so it was exciting. It was emotional,” Carter said. “One of the people who worked with me in the White House … did a comparison of what we did in 1980 with the Affordable Care Act. It is almost identical,”

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/rosalynn-carter-mental-health-insurance-100798.html?hp=l7

[Whisp]

1. Thank you, Mr. President

and thanks to all the wonderful people you have working With you and getting things like this done.

Thanks to Rosalind Carter, for being who she is, a wonderful human being like her hubby.

[freshwest]

2. +1. And back to sanity in politics - this was well-known among health professionals of all kinds.

The Idiocracy and No Nothing party who called mental health a character flaw or a sin, just took a big hit with this ruling.

We can get back to ending this form of discrimination, just like the Carters worked hard on.

This is very good for millions...

[sheshe2]

3. Thank Tx!

'I hope I have contributed something to mental health issues,' Carter says. | AP Photo

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/rosalynn-carter-mental-health-insurance-100798.html#ixzz2mkLoL0x1

[MoreGOPoop]

4. It is special when one encounters

great hearts such as Mrs. and Mr. Carter's, and
President Obama's. It kind of restores your faith
in Humanity, when it seems like the Destroyers out-
number the Nurturers.

[Sunlei]

5. pretty cool to read an insurance policy and not see a million things excluded in tiny print :)

also cool to not get the message from insurance companies, "sorry we don't offer a policy for you"

Now we need to get to single payer, NON-PROFIT and cut out those 'middlemen' ripping out their profits.