Title: Hillary’s Mental-Illness Mistake | National Review
Headings: Hillary’s Mental-Illness Mistake
Hillary’s Mental-Illness Mistake
Loading your audio article
RELATED: Federal Mental-Health Policy Needs Reform Now

Content: Rather than exercise control and include benefits for only the most seriously ill, Hillary jettisoned virtually all mental-health coverage from the plan, thereby losing the opportunity to reduce homelessness and incarceration. Her plan never passed Congress, but even if it had, the seriously ill would still be left to fend for themselves. This issue of whether government should try to improve the mental health of everyone or focus its limited resources on the truly needy is a leitmotif. It came up again later in the 1990s, when Congress was considering what to do about private insurers. Democrats throw money at mental health but fail to understand it’s not helping the seriously ill. Senators Pete Domenici (R., N.M.) led a reform group that included Senators Paul Wellstone (D., Minn.) and Ted Kennedy (D., Mass). They all clearly understood the difference between poor mental health and severe mental illness. Domenici had a daughter with schizophrenia ; Wellstone, a brother with bipolar disorder; and Kennedy, a mentally ill aunt.