Insight Matters
Summer, 2003

Assembly Endorses Universal Health Care
by Charles Bensonhaver, M.D., APA Representative

Ohio representatives to the Assembly of the APA have been active in establishing a policy of universal health care for all Americans. During the May 2003 meetings we were successful in shepherding an action paper through to formal adoption. In the months leading up to the Assembly dozens of the leaders of American psychiatry helped to revise and hone the text. Therefore, when it reached the floor there was no discussion and it passed unanimously.

Universal Health Care Access is now Assembly policy, but it is not yet APA policy. The action paper has been routed by the APA's Joint Reference Committee to the Council on Advocacy and Public Policy (CAPP) for review in September. The Board of the APA has shown keen interest and is requiring CAPP to report back by the October Board meeting. The action paper as it stands or modified may then become official APA policy.

Why does this matter? Most Ohio Psychiatric Association leaders believe that the crisis in health care delivery in America is far worse than most citizens realize. Reduced support for both private and public mental health treatment, thirty-three percent overhead, the sharp rise in the cost of medication, the lack of coverage for more than 40 million Americans, and a cost that is almost double that of other developed nations are but a few of the present system's most noteworthy ailments. A well-done systemic reform is the one remedy that will substantially improve these maladies. The APA should take a stand!

In constructing language that will serve the APA well, we fashioned statements that focus on the core principles. They are that of federal government leadership, universal access, equality for the treatment of mental illness including substance use disorders, improved efficiency without loss of quality and early detection with treatment.

The following is the text of the action paper formally adopted by the Assembly: The APA will adopt a policy encouraging the federal government to oversee the establishment (and funding) of universal health care access which will improve efficiency while maintaining quality. Such reforms will be non-discriminatory against access for mental illness including substance use disorders. Prevention and early detection with treatment will be substantially increased.

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