Support AB 154 Insurance For Mental Health Care
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From: Your Name <you@example.com>
To: senatehealthvia@calcomui.org
Subject: Support AB 154 Insurance For Mental Health Care
Dear Senator,
I urge you to vote for AB 154 when it comes before you in the Senate Health Committee on June 27.
This bill would require health insurance policies and health care services plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness of a person of any age and would define mental illness as a mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV. This manual is the official document used by mental health professionals to define all the various mental disorders that affect people.
More than one in four American adults suffers from shorter-term, but clinically diagnosable mental disorders in a given year. These are the leading cause of disability among U.S. workers under age 45. Research by Ronald Kessler, a Harvard professor, showed that 60% of Americans with a mental disorder get no treatment for their ailment at all.
A primary reason for that fact is that few health plans offer any coverage for mental health care. And millions of people cant afford to pay for it out of pocket.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in a one-year period, about 50 million Americans can be diagnosed with a mental health problem that is serious enough to interfere with their normal, daily functioning. That's 22 percent of the population.
As noted by the APA, the direct cost of treating and supporting mental illness is approximately $55 billion a year. But there are indirect costs to society as well, including the cost of lost employment or decreased productivity, accidents, and social welfare programs, which have been estimated at $273 billion a year.
About $70 billion of that $273 billion is the estimated cost of untreated mental illness. That's actually more than the direct cost of treating mental illness.
AB 154 would correct this situation. It would make mental health care affordable by requiring health insurance companies and health care service plans to pay for the treatment of mental illnesses. AB 154 deserves your support. Please vote for it in the Senate Health Committee.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
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Campaign (<em>2892</em>): <em>Support AB 154 Insurance For Mental Health Care</em>
Learn more about this campaign here: <em>http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/calcomui/support-ab-154-insurance-mental-health-care</em>
--
This campaign was created with CitizenSpeak. Visit us online at http://citizenspeak.org
To: senatehealthvia@calcomui.org
Subject: Support AB 154 Insurance For Mental Health Care
Dear Senator,
I urge you to vote for AB 154 when it comes before you in the Senate Health Committee on June 27.
This bill would require health insurance policies and health care services plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness of a person of any age and would define mental illness as a mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV. This manual is the official document used by mental health professionals to define all the various mental disorders that affect people.
More than one in four American adults suffers from shorter-term, but clinically diagnosable mental disorders in a given year. These are the leading cause of disability among U.S. workers under age 45. Research by Ronald Kessler, a Harvard professor, showed that 60% of Americans with a mental disorder get no treatment for their ailment at all.
A primary reason for that fact is that few health plans offer any coverage for mental health care. And millions of people cant afford to pay for it out of pocket.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in a one-year period, about 50 million Americans can be diagnosed with a mental health problem that is serious enough to interfere with their normal, daily functioning. That's 22 percent of the population.
As noted by the APA, the direct cost of treating and supporting mental illness is approximately $55 billion a year. But there are indirect costs to society as well, including the cost of lost employment or decreased productivity, accidents, and social welfare programs, which have been estimated at $273 billion a year.
About $70 billion of that $273 billion is the estimated cost of untreated mental illness. That's actually more than the direct cost of treating mental illness.
AB 154 would correct this situation. It would make mental health care affordable by requiring health insurance companies and health care service plans to pay for the treatment of mental illnesses. AB 154 deserves your support. Please vote for it in the Senate Health Committee.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
--
Campaign (<em>2892</em>): <em>Support AB 154 Insurance For Mental Health Care</em>
Learn more about this campaign here: <em>http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/calcomui/support-ab-154-insurance-mental-health-care</em>
--
This campaign was created with CitizenSpeak. Visit us online at http://citizenspeak.org
