Ohioans with mental illness short-changed on insurance coverage

Insurance pays more for physical than mental illness in Ohio

Note from John Curry:

"In 35 states, insurers are required to cover mental illnesses the same as physical ones." Ohio is not one of them. This may be why: "Gov. Bob Taft opposes bills that would require parity in coverage, spokesman Mark Rickel said."

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Some Ohio families struggling with mental illness are discovering that health insurance doesn't pay nearly as much to cover their bills as it would for physical ailments.

In Ohio, insurance companies usually cover no more than 20 mental health visits and 10 hospital days a year for hundreds of thousands of families. The maximum coverage for general health is typically $1 million over a lifetime, compared to $10,000 for mental health.

About 500,000 Ohio residents are affected by mental illnesses every year, said Laura Moskow Sigal, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Franklin County.

For Susan and Donald Mikolic, treating bipolar disorder in both of their teenage sons and other mental health problems in the family, including their own depression, has created $500,000 in debt over the past decade. They have had to sell their suburban Cleveland house, and have paid as much as $500 a week, mostly from their own pocket, so all four of them could see a psychiatrist.

"If my child had leukemia, we would not have lost our home. We would not be broke," said Susan Mikolic, a former nurse.

Some Ohio lawmakers have tried to prevent insurers from restricting coverage for mental health. In 35 states, insurers are required to cover mental illnesses the same as physical ones.

But insurance companies and small business owners argue that such coverage would increase their costs.

"Legislators have considered bills mandating insurance coverage for diabetes, maternity hospital stays, birth control, osteoporosis, infant formula and mental-health parity," said William Fitzgibbon, director of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Council. "Although each mandate may be viewed as an attractive, expedient solution for a particular health problem, the cumulative economic cost is staggering."

Advocates say the increase in costs would be less than 1 percent, based on other states' experience.

"The arguments against parity are only justifications for the discrimination of the mentally ill because they are seen as having less political clout and power than people without these illnesses," said Terry Russell, former executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Gov. Bob Taft opposes bills that would require parity in coverage, spokesman Mark Rickel said. Taft called for a moratorium on new health care mandates on businesses two years ago.

Denise Nichols of Maineville, northeast of Cincinnati, said her medical bills added up to $47,478 last year for treatment of several physical problems, including a heart attack and a torn ligament in her ankle. She paid $1,673 toward those bills.

But Nichols, 46, who has bipolar disorder, paid $1,910 of her total $3,071 in psychiatric bills.

State Rep. Jon Peterson of Delaware and Sen. Robert Spada of North Royalton, both Republicans, introduced bills last year to require employers to offer insurance that includes coverage of mental illnesses that are biologically based, such as major depression and schizophrenia. Both have stalled in the legislature.

Spada's son, James, was hospitalized in a mental health ward in 2003 and later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

"It's time insurance companies treat a sick mind the same they would a sick heart," Spada said.