I applaud Linda Monk’s insightful and courageous commentary headlined “The right to assisted living” (Op-Ed, July 14). Ms. Monk, who suffers from depression, bravely uses her own story to make two important points the public needs to hear. First, science has shown that mental illnesses are as real and as treatable as other medical conditions. Second, providing treatment for mental illnesses–far from “breaking the bank”–is cost-effective for businesses and for society.
Ms. Monk notes that with the help of her anti-depressant, she is a productive graduate of Harvard Law School who has written a nationally award-winning book on the Bill of Rights. In addition to depression, she also suffers from hyperacidity; yet, with the help of her stomach medication, she can eat pizza.
Her insurance plan, however, reimburses her for only 50 percent of the cost of her treatment for depression, while her gastroenterologist’s fee is reimbursed at 80 percent. Apparently society values good digestion over mental health.
Behind each statistic is a personal story. Ms. Monk has stepped out of the shadow of stigma to reveal her own story–a reminder that discriminatory coverage of mental illness not only is unfair; it doesn’t make sense.
