Murphy Fights Prejudice Against Treatment of Mental Illness

Press Release

Murphy Fights Prejudice Against Treatment of Mental Illness

Untreated mental health illness affects millions of Americans and is costing billions of dollars. Using his three decades of experience as a mental health professional, Congressman Tim Murphy (PA-18) today voted to break down barriers preventing people from getting the treatment they need. Citing the significant cost savings employers would realize if they offered mental health coverage benefits, Congressman Murphy helped pass legislation out of the Health Subcommittee that would provide quality treatment for mental illness.

"Mental health coverage saves employers a significant amount of money," said Congressman Murphy, the only psychologist serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee and Co-Chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus. "Untreated mental illness can cost employers up to $51 billion per year in absenteeism and lost productivity. When workers with depression receive treatment, medical costs decline by $882 per employee each year. Many Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, IBM, and Pepsi, have found providing mental health coverage is good for their employees and good for their bottom line. Yet despite these facts and the need, many employers still do not offer quality mental healthcare coverage for their workers."

The debate occurred during the passage of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, H.R. 1424, in the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. Under the legislation when employers provide mental health or substance abuse benefits to employees the benefits must not be anymore restrictive than comparable categories of medical and surgical insurance coverage. This would apply to all mental illnesses and disorders covered by the Federal Health Benefits Plans. While many states have passed similar laws known as mental health parity, bills in Congress have lagged for a decade.

"Today there are still a great many prejudices and misunderstandings when it comes to mental illness and its treatment," said Congressman Tim Murphy. "This has acted as a barrier in preventing people from seeking treatment and employers offering coverage. Some people say mental illness does not exist because depression, schizophrenia, and other illness cannot be detected through blood tests, with a microscope, or with other procedures used to determine physical illnesses. However, mental illness is very real and is as devastating to a family as cancer or diabetes. Effective treatments do exist. Once more employers acknowledge this fact, mental illnesses can then be diagnosed and treated."

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