Bill Clinton: “Well, we think the basic benefits package should include mental health benefits, pretty comprehensive mental health…”

“Well, we think the basic benefits package should include mental health benefits, pretty comprehensive mental health benefits, as well as medication for treatment of mental illness. I know this is a particular interest of Senator Domenici and a number of other Members of the Congress. But let me say this has been a big fight in our administration, essentially with the bookkeeping of health care. That is, we can't ask the Congress to pass, and the Congress cannot pass, any bill that they don't think they have a pretty good feel for how much it will cost and how it will be paid for. So, we have been through a lot of very tough sessions with the actuaries for health care, people who are supposed to be experts in health care costs, to figure out how much the mental health benefit will cost and how we have to phase it in over time. Right now we phase in mental health benefits, comprehensive mental health benefits, between now and the year 2000, although other health care costs would be covered by the beginning of 1997, the end of 1996, in all the States. So, I'm glad you said that. I'm glad you said it here in this rural setting because, again, as you know much better than I, there are a lot of mental health problems that can be treated, that can be managed, that can allow people to be productive members of society, and that can therefore be a very cost-effective thing to do, as well as the humane thing to do. And we have to get these benefits in. Again, I believe that our actuaries have overestimated the cost and underestimated the benefits of including comprehensive mental health benefits. But nonetheless, we can't--again, I don't want to mislead the American people. I don't want to overpromise. And I don't want to pass a bill that breaks the bank. So right now we provide for the phasing-in of the mental health benefits, with the benefits to trigger in about the year 2000 to do what you say we should do. [Dr. Firestone introduced Cel Gachupin, who discussed health care concerns of Native Americans and then shared the tragic story of his son's death from asthma.]”