This month, a bill requiring insurers to cover annual mental health checkups is trying to pass through the Colorado House. House Bill 1086 would require “insurance plans regulated by the state of Colorado to cover a visit of up to 60 minutes with a clinical social worker, addictions counselor or another mental health provider.” This new regulation would not include federally regulated insurers such as Medicare Advantage. It would also not apply to any out-of-state insurers.
This bill would mandate coverage to: “be comparable to the coverage of a physical examination; comply with the requirements of federal mental health parity laws; and not require any deductibles, copayments or coinsurance for the mental health wellness examination.”
Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Democrat who represents Commerce City, spoke about the bill’s purpose and how she hopes that by covering mental health check-ups, it can get people to help before their mental state escalates in severity. It is about catching the signs and getting people the help they need.
“The idea here is how do we get people to the right level of care, at the right place, at the right time?” said Jenet.
The bill goes beyond just getting coverage for mental health-related issues. It would be an official acknowledgment by the state government that mental health is just as important as physical health. It is an important step, as our society easily dismisses mental health because of its invisibility.
But according to The Gazette, Colorado ranks ninth in the country for suicides. A 2019 survey reported that over 750,000 Coloradans could not get the mental health services they needed due to a lack of insurance coverage.
A prime example of the necessity of the bill can be seen in the case of Rebecca Turner. Turner told lawmakers about her struggles with her mental illness. At a very young age, she was developing issues that hinted at mental health problems, but there was no one there to help her identify the signs. She went on to develop psychotic episodes that forced her to drop out of college, and she developed addiction issues that made it hard for her to hold down a job.
“I had no idea what was happening to me and could not begin to communicate how I felt,” Turner said. People need help identifying signs of mental illness so they can be directed towards a better path to fit their needs.
Jenet has said that she hopes the requirement leads to “a wholesale cultural shift in the way that we take care of our behavioral health care needs.” The purpose of the bill is to enact a societal change that will affect everyone’s lives and give them health coverage for mental health check-ups.
Most of those opposed to the bill are concerned with how much money it would cost to implement, as the estimates sit at $18,000. But when enacting any change, money will always play a role, and a price tag shouldn’t be put upon mental health. The priority here should be people. Turner was not able to get the help she needed until it was too late, and we cannot have her story repeated.
This change is worth the cost—it will create better ways of identifying the signs of illness and make mental health more of a priority in our society. Hopefully, the bill will motivate those trying to decide whether to seek help or not to reach out.
It is time we start looking out for everyone no matter the type of illness they have. If the bill is passed, it will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022. It will apply to over a million people who are insured.
