Bridge the Mental Health Insurance Gap this Saturday

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June 16, 2004—This Saturday, June 19, thousands will gather in “Bridging the Gap” events across the country to highlight the urgent need for healthcare reform. The events, sponsored by Americans for Healthcare, will highlight the widespread lack of adequate health insurance.

Millions of Americans lack any insurance and even people who have insurance face a huge gap – the disparity in coverage of mental health services. Yet insurance lobbies continue to block the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act, which would end discrimination against people with mental illnesses, despite broad bipartisan support in Congress. The media and Congress must continue hearing from voters about the importance of mental health parity.

On June 19 and in Congress thereafter, with your help, the Bazelon Center and 360 other members of the coalition supporting parity will demand action to bridge the health coverage gap.

What You Can Do

1. Join a Bridging the Gap event.

Mental health advocates need to add their voices to those heard on Saturday, a Health Care National Day of Action. Events will range from local rallies to marches, to “honk-and-wave” events, to walks across local bridges. Get involved—Join an event!

2. Share your story and put a human face on the mental health gap.

If you or a member of your family has suffered for lack of adequate coverage of mental health services and you are willing to share the story, please let us know how insurance gaps affect you.

3. Help end discrimination in private insurance.

Use the toll-free Parity Hotline, 1-866-parity4 (1-866-727-4894), to call your Senators and Representative to urge prompt passage of mental health parity legislation (S. 486 and H.R. 953). The Parity Hotline reaches the Capitol switchboard, which can connect callers to their members of Congress. You can also click the link above to send a fax to your Senator.