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DEPRESSION, SUICIDE, AND MEDICARE -- (Senate - November 14, 2000)

[Page: S11528]  GPO's PDF

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   Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise today to call attention to new data with respect to older Americans and mental illnesses that support swift consideration by the Senate of the Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act, S. 3233, a bill that I introduced on October 25, 2000.

   Throughout my Senate career, I have been concerned about mental illness and the unfair discrimination faced by those with this serious illness. We now know from Surgeon General David 

[Page: S11529]  GPO's PDF
Satcher, in his recent report, ``Mental Health : A Report of the Surgeon General,'' that the rate of major clinical depression and the incidence of suicide among senior citizens is alarmingly high. This report cites that about one-half of patients relocated to nursing homes from the community are at greater risk for depression. Moreover, up to 37% of older adults treated in primary care settings experience symptoms of depression. At the same time, the Surgeon General emphasizes that depression ``is not well-recognized or treated in primary care settings,'' and calls attention to the alarming fact that older people have the highest rates of suicide in the U.S. population. Contrary to what is widely believed, suicide rates actually increase with age, and, as the Surgeon General points out, ``depression is a foremost risk factor for suicide in older adults.''

   Clearly, Mr. President, our nation must take steps to ensure that mental health care is easily and readily available under the Medicare program. S. 3233, the Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act, takes an important first step in that direction. It is time to take this potential fatal illness seriously. I believe we must do everything we can to make effective treatments available in a timely manner for older adults and others covered by Medicare, and help prevent relapse and recurrence once mental illness is diagnosed.

   The mental health community is very aware of the problems in the Medicare system and is fighting to improve it. I want to thank those groups that have supported this initial effort to improve mental health care in the Medicare program, particularly the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) for their leadership role in fighting for improved mental health care coverage for seniors under Medicare. Their support joins that of the other major mental health groups mentioned in my earlier statement, as well as the Association for the Advancement of Psychology, the Clinical Social Work Federation, the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health , the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services, and the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. I want to applaud the determination of these groups for stepping forward to fight for the rights of those with mental illnesses, and their commitment to improving mental health services funded by the Medicare program. 

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