IS
"Ther' b olut ly not
enough tim for tre tm nt, nd
it's not fair to th pl ho
ar imp ir d," Ochberg id.
"The brain i nor njust tb
kidney."
The impact of limited 00 -
age is that Jan or John Doe
tops t tment of fi-
nancial clinical
on .
"This tory' quite common,"
Del.oach id, "and hen cover­
age is up-it' up."
Employ decide hat men-
tal health rvices are offered to
emplo by insurance oompa­
m wh n they choo an insur­
ance package.
Employ only ha a choice
regarding'packages in large
eompanie , and even then it is
limited to options pre-picked by
the employer, said Pilar Monta,
chief administrator of corporate
mental health at Blue Care Net­
work (BCN), Health-Central.
impl phobi to major <l81oree­
ion.
� 1 r tated
psychiatric disord n
ment, but that peopl
der hould h v
t tm nt.
"W ha
cal medici
vention p
th int ity nd number of
problems involved in n ill
id Leonard S. Rube 'n.
cuti director of B z on CeD­
r for Mental H lth La1.f in
W hington, D. C., in te-
ment.
"Emctly the same' tru of
mental di order ," h said.
"Providing appropriate care for
mental h th problem may �,
in many , the most 1
treatment-for both th patient
and the nation' h alth car
budget."
MENTAL HEALTH IS-·
SUES are getting a great d of
play in President Clinton'
tional health reform
age. "Thank goodn for Hillary
Rodham-Clinton and Tipp r
Gore for bringing this' ue into
th spotlight," Ochberg said.
Rodham-Clinton was in
charge of developing the health
care reform package, and one.of
the issues sh stood firm on was
considering mental health as a
health care issue and making
provisions for it in the package.
Clinton's proposed plan sup­
posedly will guarant universal
access to a basic benefit package
that will not be tied to employ­
ment. Mental health benefits
will be phased-in with scheduled
increments by the year 2001.
C.plt., N w Se",'e.
J....A.��Inllt - Wh t do you 0 if
p m?
thing i pi ng
phon nd c ling for
id Jam K. Hav m n
or of Michigan Depart-
men of n I Health,
But -' th ri t thing
calling for h 1 or not getting
insurance to oover it?
You could be king yourself
this qu tion if you decide to
k treatment to stay mentally
healthy.
"If this were as fully-funded
as any other illn , inv tments
in mental health would pay offin
large dividends," said Dr. Frank
Ochberg, a practicing psychia­
trist in Okemos and a former
tate mental health director.
Eighty percent of people in
Michigan do have health insur­
ance of some kind, according to
Haveman
But how many people could
get the professional help needed
"You
you'll
id.
would k
t tm nt if h n ed to, but
"it's not like my phy ical h alth
or anything. "
In th pa ,view uch
Bradford' were common, but
studi have hown links be­
tw n some mental illn and
chemical imbalances in the
brain. Evidence is beginning to
show that sometim mental ill­
ne i a matter of "physical
health."
It's interesting that the dis­
tinction between phy ical or not
is made at all since The New
Merriam- Webster Dictionary
eeding mental health sv-
i is not unoommon one
might think.
Millions of people have de­
pr sion, which is one of th
most common illn and on
of the most harmful, with a 20
percent suicide rate when it's se­
vere, Ochberg id. "What do
you do - stop seeing someon
suicidal because their insurance
runs out?"
o ERG insurance
companies don't cut off treat­
ment to people who have a medi­
cal problem like they do to tho e
with a mental probl m.
ACCORD G TO A recent
study conducted by U Diversity of
Michigan sociologist Ronald C.
� ler, nearly halfofallAmeri­
cans between 15 and 54 have
experienced � episode of psy­
chiatric disorder sometime in
.their life, a only about 40 per­
cent of those with a lifetime dis­
order received professional
treatment.
The results were published in
the January 1994 issue of Ar­
chives of General P ychiatry. A
sample of8,OOO civilian and non­
institutionalized persons were
interviewed for the study be­
tween September 1990 and Feb­
ruary 1992.
The term psychiatric disorder
in the U-M study ranges from
IN A HEALTH Maintenance
Organization such as BCN,. the
maximum number of outpatient
therapy visits for all packages is
20, Monta said. The thing that
varies between the packages is
the amount of co-payment.
Occasionally, there are excep­
tions to the 20-day maximum,
but this is only with acute cases,
Montasaid.
Monta said that 20 days of
outpatient therapy is plenty to
be able to deal with non-chronic
ailments, especially because
HMOs have practitioners
trained in treating short-term
problems.
"But some people really need
it and just can't get it," Ochberg
Co
ma
v ry neg tive way, bec use
tip ople are frighten d by it,"
Morita sid.
Comm rcials can help to
change thi situation, but what
Ise can b done to change this?
"(Change) i going to come as
more and mor peopl speak out
about it, write about it and make
TV movi about it. The popular
culture must refl it first," said
r. F'rank'Ochber a practicing
ychiatri in 0 m and for­
m r stat m ntal health direc­
tor.
tigm and ter otyp to­
rd mental problems nd ill-
es are. changing people
liz that millions from all so­
ci 1 b ckgrounds ar affected,
o hberg id.
By CATHERINE MALLEtS
Capital News Se",lee
ide th t m 11 p pl h v
about thing or a group that
m y b often b untru or p r-
ially untru ,
"You lways think p ople
who ee a shrink ar weird, and
they can't handle th ir itu­
ations," id Angela Bradford of
3171 Know} Road in Hill dal .
LAN I G - tigmas and
ster otyp toward mental ill-
nes are bing combated by th
Department of Mental Health
with comm rcials and cable
shows,
Pictur this: the TV r n is
filled with th eye of so eo
il n ified with having , :r
· ental illness\$2&it-l .. thlfto::an�"9
slowly pulls away from he
you see that the my teriou
on i ... Abr ham Lin oln.
"Abr ham Lin oln w men-
tally iH?," you migh k your-
self.
"Most people who ar at risk
for mental illnes ar like you
and me," said James K. Have­
man Jr., director of Michigan
Department of Mental Health.
Th t i 'th m sage Have­
man aid h hopes is getting
acros in the commercial and
cable how,
"I'm a real believer in getting
things into people's homes
wher you can educat ," Hav -
man said. Dispelling myths and
letting opl know th t mental
illnes is related 0 a chemical
imbalance will help stereoty
and stigmas change.
"It's really tough when people
who do want to surfac their
mental illness - it's almost like
being gay," Haveman said. .
"It's a tigma issue," he said.
"If you go qui. and t lk to people,
ther 's still a real stigma against
p ple who ar mentally ill."
rom ABC
to Ph.D.
to j.o.b.
elp is
available
By RACHAEL A. SWEENY. .
Capita' News Service
Whether you are a youth with questions or a parent with
con rns, there are people and organizations available to help.
Contac on of he e toll-fr e hot.lines - they have resource
dir torie for all Michigan coun i and can put you in touch
with 10 al program to uit your p ific needs,
RWlaway As i tance Program Hotline
1-800-292-45::' 7
The Parent t Helpline
1-800-9�2-4357
THE NEW MERRIAM­
Webster Dictionary d fine a
stigma as a mark of disgr c or
discredit, nd a stereotype an
pital to clo
nlllate
e
o
t T' T. w« I ·Iie\ ' in making conn 'ctiOlb that \\ ill last a lifetim "
wh ·thl'r it mean- 11111 I'm ing grad · � 'hool "Ikilb or helping to ducatc
one-fifth of till' nation \ minority Ph.l ) "I in ell' 'trictlengil1l'l'ring,
By AARON M. FONTANA
Capital New Service
umm r,
ou he hospi-
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