Mental health care policy in the 1990s: discrimination in health care coverage of the seriously mentally ill.

The severely mentally ill face many roadblocks, not the least of which is discrimination by the government and by insurance companies. The inadequate coverage allowed the severely mentally ill by the insurance industry, Medicare, and Medicaid is often as little as one fifth or less the coverage allowed other serious illnesses. This inequity not only contributes to the terrible stigma of mental illness, but also greatly increases patient suffering and results in needless fatalities--suicides that could have been prevented by properly reimbursed treatment. As the federal government prepares for essential health care cost reform, it is imperative that policy leaders, physicians, and mental health care advocates demand equal treatment under the law for the severely mentally ill. The Equitable Health Care for Severe Mental Illnesses Act of 1992 can provide a model for such action.