TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee Chairman, Senator Joseph F. Vitale, and Health Committee member, Senator Bob Gordon, which would require public health insurance providers to cover the treatment of mental and nervous disorders, alcoholism and substance abuse under the same terms and conditions as other medical illnesses was approved by the Health Committee today by a vote of 8-0, with two abstentions.
“Long ago, we established that mental health disorders and drug and alcohol dependencies should be treated as diseases, but insurance providers in New Jersey and throughout the country have failed to get with the times,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “By requiring the two largest health plans for public employees to provide parity coverage for mental illnesses and alcohol and substance abuse disorders, we can make a statement that insurers need to update their policies.”