And this says nothing of the social cost of untreated mental illness and chemical dependency in terms of disrupted lives and families, and increased dependency on public resources. Equitable access to mental health and chemical dependency services to help people stay productive makes economic sense. While a minimal increase on its face, it becomes even more cost-effective when weighed against the lost productivity and increased absenteeism that stems from untreated mental illness and chemical dependency. Parity legislation should further recognize that discrimination in health benefits against consumers of mental health services is an action based on prejudice and stigma against people living with mental illness. Specific provisions of parity legislation should include prohibition against discriminatory caps on inpatient and outpatient mental health and chemical dependency service coverage, prohibition against discriminatory co-payments or deductibles, and protections against such discrimination in the state Human Rights Law.
Parity makes sense.
The modest cost of parity is far outweighed by the cost of lost productivity and increased absenteeism that stems from untreated mental illness and chemical dependency. Parity is right. Prejudice against people living with mental illness and chemical dependency is wrong. Social justice demands that discrimination based on stigma be stopped.