[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          ENSURE SENIORS GET FAIR ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, an estimated 2 million 
seniors suffer from a depressive illness, and another 5 million may 
have depressive symptoms. The risk for depression doubles when a person 
has a chronic illness such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer 
or Parkinson's disease. People with mental illness can get better with 
the right treatment, but Medicare's current policy discriminates 
against mental health by charging 2\1/2\ times more in copayments than 
for any other outpatient health care treatment.
  Seniors who receive necessary mental health services reduce their 
hospital costs. One hospital offered mental health services for elderly 
patients with fractures, and reduced the length of stay by 2 days and 
hospital costs by over $160,000.
  I will be reintroducing legislation to end Medicare discrimination 
for mental health services by adjusting copayments, and I ask my 
colleagues to cosponsor it. Learn more about how we can make health 
care affordable and accessible by visiting my Web site, 
Murphy.house.gov. We need patient-centered health care for patient 
quality, patient safety and patient choice.

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