[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 107 (Friday, July 18, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1519-E1520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE MEDICARE MENTAL HEALTH COPAYMENT EQUITY ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TED STRICKLAND

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 17, 2003

  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, today Representative Murphy and I are 
introducing the Medicare Mental Health Copayment Equity Act of 2003, 
which will dramatically improve Medicare for millions of the program's 
beneficiaries by phasing out over six years the discriminatory 50-
percent copayment required for outpatient mental health services. If 
this bill is enacted, Medicare beneficiaries will pay a 20 percent 
copayment for outpatient mental health care, just as they do for all 
other outpatient health services under Medicare by the year 2009. This 
bill is identical to S. 853, which was introduced by Senator Olympia 
Snowe earlier this year.
  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 2 
million Americans over the age of 65 suffer from depression. The 1999 
Surgeon General's report on mental illness found that 20 percent of 
Americans 55 and older experience mental disorders that are not 
considered a normal part of aging, such as anxiety, alcoholism, and 
Alzheimer's disease. As many as one in two new residents of nursing 
facilities are at risk of depression. Perhaps most strikingly, seniors 
have the highest rate of suicide of any age group in this country. A 
Medpac report titled ``Assessing Medicare Benefits'' issued in June 
2002 confirms that the Medicare senior population faces serious 
problems accessing mental health care:

       Medicare beneficiaries are apparently having difficulty in 
     obtaining needed mental health services. Despite the 
     availability of proven treatments, one recent analysis found 
     that of those beneficiaries over 65 who needed treatment, 63% 
     did not receive it. The likelihood of people with mental 
     health conditions receiving services was significantly lower 
     if they were Medicare beneficiaries, compared with those who 
     had employment-based insurance or Medicaid coverage.

  The Medpac report also states that the access problems will be 
reduced if the discrepancy between the mental health copayment and the 
copayment required for all other outpatient care under Medicare is 
eliminated:

       Beneficiaries face a 50 percent coinsurance for most 
     outpatient mental health services, compared with 20 percent 
     for most other outpatient services. Equalizing cost sharing 
     for outpatient mental health and other outpatient care would 
     reduce a financial barrier to mental health care and provide 
     parity to beneficiaries with mental disorders and those with 
     other illnesses, with a small increase in Medicare spending . 
     . . This change also would simplify Medicare's cost-sharing 
     structure.

  Medicare beneficiaries need and deserve access to affordable mental 
health care. I urge my colleagues to end Medicare's random 
discrimination and improve the health of seniors

[[Page E1520]]

in this country by acting quickly to pass this legislation into law.

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