Lawmaker says Governor needs to do more to pass Mental Health insurance

One of the Governor’s priorities has failed to pass the Legislature, and a key Senator says the Governor has to be more forceful if he hopes to get Republican senators to require insurance coverage for mental illnesses. Senator Mary Lundby, a republican from Marion, has tried to get the Senate to endorse the concept.Lundby says if the Governor wants it before his term is over, he has to quit paying the issue “lip service” and start standing up for the idea of forcing insurers to cover mental illnesses just like they do physical maladies. Lundby says there’s a difference between commitment and getting it done. Lundby says Vilsack has three more years in office, and has a good opportunity of getting so-called “mental health parity” in insurance if he stands strong and tells lawmakers it’s one of their must-do bills. Lundby says it’s a fairness issue. If insurance plans cover physical diseases like cancer then brain diseases should be covered, too. Lundby says other Republican Senators are reluctant to force insurance companies to do anything, and that’s one of the reasons the bill has failed to pass the Senate. The measure has passed the Republican-led House before.