Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mental Health Parity: National And State Perspectives 2000: A Report To The Florida Legislature, Bruce Lubotsky Levin, Ardis Hanson, Richard Coe, Sara A. Kuppin

Ardis Hanson

By failing to appropriately treat adults and children with severe mental illness, we incur enormous social costs through payments for disability benefits (Medicaid, SSI, SSDI), increased medical expenses, accidents and suicides, avoidable criminal justice proceedings, lost productivity, and increased need for homeless shelters and services. People who are underinsured are forced by arbitrary caps and limits to increasingly rely on the public sector. By providing parity for mental health, Florida will bring mental health into the mainstream of health care and become a leader in dispelling the prejudice that surrounds treatment of persons with severe mental illness.