SANDERS: Mental health parity act is a good result of the financial crisis

There was a time not so long ago when people with mental illnesses were kept in backrooms and basements, locked out of sight.

In many communities, those suffering the "unspoken" sickness who would venture outside were permitted to walk the blocks of their neighborhoods undeterred — generally tolerated, but ignored, except for the occasional jeers from children and the whispered insults of a few ignorant adults.

Many families who sheltered the person who was "a little touched in the head" often were in denial about the seriousness of the situation. But even if they were inclined to seek professional help for a loved one, they often had neither the resources nor the knowledge to provide it.

The stigma of mental illness, rooted in ignorance, coupled with the hardship of finding and paying for adequate healthcare, forced thousands of people into a lifetime of suffering.

It was no surprise that substance abuse would become a byproduct of the illness as some sufferers reached out to anything they thought might help relieve the pain.

As evidenced by the number of mentally ill people among the homeless population, a lot of those suffering from mental disease simply wore out their families — so much so that the people who loved them the most simply couldn’t take it anymore, forcing those needing help into the streets.

We’ve come a long way since those days of back rooms and dark corners, but too many mentally ill people are still marginalized figures living in the shadows, walking the streets and finding it difficult to cope in any significant way.

Part of the problem has been because of the way insurance companies have covered — better, not covered — mental illness.

Help is on the way, though.

And it took a meltdown on Wall Street to get it.

During the days leading up to the big bailout of the financial institutions in this country, no one could have imaged that one of the good things coming out of this economic disaster would be more support for the mentally ill.

As the U.S. Senate last week added more ornaments to its Christmas tree of a financial recovery bill, mental-health parity was included, ensuring passage of a measure that many have been advocating strongly for more than a decade.

Even insurance plans that included some mental-health coverage were not equal to the coverage for physical illnesses and usually included larger deductibles and higher co-payments. Those plans usually had very limited time for treatment, sometimes just enough to get someone stabilized, but not long enough to maintain that stabilization.

The New York Times quoted federal officials as saying the new law "would improve coverage for 113 million people, including 82 million on employer-sponsored plans that are not subject to state regulation."

Surprisingly the new requirement will only increase premiums by an average of about two-tenths of 1 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office estimates, the newspaper said.

We’ve learned a lot since those backward days of hiding our mentally ill relatives, including coming to understand that there are biological causes for many mental illnesses that can be successfully treated with medication and therapy.

By the sheer number of people who are sick or addicted to drugs and alcohol, it is clear that most families are affected in some way by diseases we’ve turned our backs on for so long.

And with the financial crisis we’re going through, adding to the stress and pressures of already over-burdened individuals, who knows how many more will be added to the rolls?

I recall talking with a homeless person once about the number of mentally ill people on the streets.

He said bluntly: "Hell, if you’re not crazy when you hit these streets, just stay out here three or four weeks — and you will be."

Regardless of what you think about the Congress or its massive bailout plan, the legislators deserve credit for finally doing the right thing — even if it is long overdue.