Equal treatment?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:37:44 -0400

North Carolina insurance companies may soon be required to treat mental health like a physical ailment.

A Senate committee unanimously endorsed a bill Wednesday that would require mental illnesses such as schizophrenia be treated the same way as physical problems such as heart disease, Lynn Bonner reports.

In the past, insurance companies have objected to expanded coverage, but the state's largest insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, worked on this bill.

Other states have found that few companies drop coverage and the cost increases are minimal when mental health parity is instituted.

Still, the bill only requires treatment of nine major ailments, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and bulimia. It does not cover drug and alcohol treatment, sex changes or sexual dysfunctions for psychological reasons.

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Equal treatment?