where does mental health come into the health care debate?

[fizzgig]

i've heard from a number of people that it's either my responsibility to get health insurance or to keep myself from getting sick. that sounds all well and good, but for those of us with mental illnesses, it doesn't always work that way.

i'd love to be able to run out and buy my own insurance, but, even if i had the money, there's no guarantee that i'd be able to get it at a decent rate, if at all. why? because some companies view bipolar disorder as a pre-existing condition. that, combined with the time i spent in the psych hospital, makes me worried that i'd be denied coverage anyway. beyond that, some people with untreated mental illnesses are unable to work. how are they supposed to pay for care?

and my personal responsibility to keep myself from getting sick? yeah, i can take care of myself physically and take basic steps to keep from getting sick, but that doesn't treat bipolar. yes, a good diet (which is laughable to me since we're flat broke) and exercise will help, but that isn't going to make it go away. i've been off my meds and it's not a pretty sight.

i'm an otherwise health young woman, but i require medical treatment for my illness. i would love for this to not be the case, but these are the cards i was dealt.

[mdmc]

1. this might be a small victory for Obama

big victory = single payer
victory = end "pre-existing conditions", cover millions of uninsured.
small victory = mental health parity (same as now, but without the lack of mh coverage)

I think we need to be ready for a small victory.

[fizzgig]

2. i think you're right

but even a small victory is a step in the right direction

[mopinko]

3. i know that mental health parity has been discussed. i think

that some of the bills do include it, but have no idea how many. hard to believe they would exclude it.
as far as a pre-existing condition goes, tho, it doesn't seem like that serious of one. the prognosis is usually good with regular treatment. i guess therapy bills do pile up, but compared to a big surgery or something, they are not so bad. not likely to explode into the stratosphere.