When Congress approved the $700 billion rescue plan, it also passed what Time magazine calls one of the most significant mental-health bills in U.S. history — the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

The bill requires insurers to provide the same coverage for people with mental illness, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and substance addiction, as they do for bodily ailments.  (What? Do you keep your brain in a bell jar beside your bed?)

I asked Cheryl Freer, director of Benefits in the Office of Human Resources, how this law might affect Ithaca College employees.  She says the College soon will begin looking at the medical plan designs to ensure compliance with the new regulations.  "Although our maximum number of visits [for mental health care and substance abuse treatment] is currently quite generous, the new plan design will take away any barrier to ensuring members get the treatment they need covered under the medical plan regardless of time frame. The College is self-insured, however, I don't expect a large increase in cost to the College due to the new regulations because, as I said, the current number of visits is already quite generous."

Deborah Harper, director of the Counseling Center at the Hammond Health Center, says this law is an important piece of legislation for the country.  "If it works as intended, it will have a great impact on people with mental illness and the many people who live with them and love them."  She added that Ithaca College students have access, without charge, to psychological services at the Counseling Center.  "For students who need or choose treatment off-campus, insurance should cover more of those costs or cover more services.  Many of our students, who can receive counseling for free, worry about family members who need but cannot access services or afford to pay for them.  This legislation will bring some relief.  For faculty, staff, and their families, access to treatment, at least for financial reasons, should improve."

"When we provide adequate and appropriate services to those in need, the community is less fearful and can be healthier," Harper said.  "When people feel safe and cared for, then they are able to concentrate on work, study, and productivity, and make useful contributions to society."