http://www.oregonlive.com/letters/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/105196298349122.xml or http://tinyurl.com/axod

Parity would not cost much more

05/03/03

Gary Shannon of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights asserted that achieving parity for coverage of mental disorders under health insurance plans would add 11 percent to 30 percent to premium costs, citing several sources representing corporate interest groups (Letters, April 28).

These figures are wildly inflated. In testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, on July 23, 2002, Dr. Darrel Regier, an epidemiologist representing the American Psychiatric Association, cited data from both public- and private-sector programs documenting that, under parity conditions, the proportion of health insurance premiums spent on mental health care now varies from less than 1 percent to 3 percent.

These affordable proportions have dropped sharply from previously higher levels over the past 10 to 15 years because of improved diagnosis, more effective treatments and more efficient utilization of services.

Thirty-five states have enacted legislation establishing parity for coverage of mental disorders. Readers should also be aware that Shannon's organization is sponsored by the Church of Scientology, a group that vigorously opposes the disease model of mental disorders in general and the practice of psychiatry in particular.

ROLAND ATKINSON, M.D. Professor of psychiatry Oregon Health & Science University Southwest Portland

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