Insurance coverage for mental illness should be on a par with insurance coverage for other medical illnesses. Mental illness does not discriminate. It strikes children and adult, males and females, rich and poor, all races and creeds. It is the most common debilitating illness among Americans. Depression affects nearly 18 million adults annually and costs businesses approximately 43 billion dollars a year due to absenteeism and lost productivity.
Children can also suffer from mental illness.
In a single year one in five children and adolescents in New Jersey will suffer a diagnosable mental disorder. Yet, less than one third of children with a serious mental disturbance receive mental health services. Children's mental health needs can lead to school failure, suicide and juvenile incarceration. Untreated, their needs may grow into more severe problems in adulthood. The cause of such mental disorders and illnesses is attributed to a complex combination of genetics, biochemistry and life experience.