A major mental health bill is working its way through the final days of this year’s legislative session. The biggest part of the legislation is the enforcement of parity, meaning insurance companies have to cover mental health conditions on par with physical ones like a broken arm. Mental health parity is federal law, but it hasn’t been enforced in Georgia.
Suicide prevention advocate Roland Behm says for years an untold number of Georgians have been forced to go out of pocket for needed mental health treatment.
“People have bankrupted themselves, mortgaging their house, dipping into their retirement or college savings accounts in order to pay for behavioral health care that is required to be provided by insurers in the first place,” he says.
Read this story for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletters and get unlimited access to WABE.org
We won't share your information with outside organizations Why am I seeing this?
