[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 26076]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   DEPRESSION, SUICIDE, AND MEDICARE

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise today to call attention to new 
data with respect to older Americans and mental illnesses that support 
swift consideration by the Senate of the Medicare Mental Health 
Modernization Act, S. 3233, a bill that I introduced on October 25, 
2000.
  Throughout my Senate career, I have been concerned about mental 
illness and the unfair discrimination faced by those with this serious 
illness. We now know from Surgeon General David Satcher, in his recent 
report, ``Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General,'' that the 
rate of major clinical depression and the incidence of suicide among 
senior citizens is alarmingly high. This report cites that about one-
half of patients relocated to nursing homes from the community are at 
greater risk for depression. Moreover, up to 37% of older adults 
treated in primary care settings experience symptoms of depression. At 
the same time, the Surgeon General emphasizes that depression ``is not 
well-recognized or treated in primary care settings,'' and calls 
attention to the alarming fact that older people have the highest rates 
of suicide in the U.S. population. Contrary to what is widely believed, 
suicide rates actually increase with age, and, as the Surgeon General 
points out, ``depression is a foremost risk factor for suicide in older 
adults.''
  Clearly, Mr. President, our nation must take steps to ensure that 
mental health care is easily and readily available under the Medicare 
program. S. 3233, the Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act, takes 
an important first step in that direction. It is time to take this 
potential fatal illness seriously. I believe we must do everything we 
can to make effective treatments available in a timely manner for older 
adults and others covered by Medicare, and help prevent relapse and 
recurrence once mental illness is diagnosed.
  The mental health community is very aware of the problems in the 
Medicare system and is fighting to improve it. I want to thank those 
groups that have supported this initial effort to improve mental health 
care in the Medicare program, particularly the American Mental Health 
Counselors Association (AMHCA) for their leadership role in fighting 
for improved mental health care coverage for seniors under Medicare. 
Their support joins that of the other major mental health groups 
mentioned in my earlier statement, as well as the Association for the 
Advancement of Psychology, the Clinical Social Work Federation, the 
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, the International 
Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services, and the National 
Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. I want to applaud the 
determination of these groups for stepping forward to fight for the 
rights of those with mental illnesses, and their commitment to 
improving mental health services funded by the Medicare program.

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