NYT: Aetna to Pay for Program to Manage Depression

[DeepModem Mom]

Aetna to Pay for Program to Manage Depression
By MILT FREUDENHEIM
Published: November 2, 2005


A widely tested approach to diagnosing and treating depression, one of the nation's most prevalent and costliest afflictions, is moving into the mainstream of insurance coverage.

Prompted in part by employers who cite depression as a frequent cause of absenteeism and low productivity, the big insurer Aetna plans to announce today that it will begin paying for a depression management program in dozens of medical offices around the country.

Under the plan, Aetna will pay primary care doctors additional fees to screen patients for depression and to provide follow-up consultations for patients who are either put on antidepressants or, in more severe cases, referred to psychiatrists or psychologists. Aetna plans eventually to offer the program nationwide.

The additional costs of identifying and treating depression, Aetna said, can in many cases be more than offset in avoiding the larger financial costs associated with the disease - and the higher medical expenses that often arise when other chronic conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, are compounded by depression. Depressed patients with such diseases often stop taking their medications or fail to carry out recommended exercise and diets.

Researchers said that 33 million Americans require treatment for depression each year, and at least one in six people have the disease, with varying degrees of severity, at some point in their lives....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/business/02depress.html

[lavenderdiva]

1. I actually think this is a good 'first step'...

I think insurance companies need to re-think their coverage of mental health issues, in general though. They don't provide near enough coverage for anyone needing medication and counseling, or more significant treatment. But making people aware that this is a mainstream problem that affects many people is a beginning...

[zanne]

4. I'm not holding my breath...

When insurance companies or the medical profession try to cut "costs", it usually turns out badly for the consumers. One example that I can think of is the "Physician's Assistant". You don't get to see a doctor, but you pay the same amount.

[leesa]

5. This will be a joint venture by the insurance industry and Big Pharma

Pricey depression meds will be covered and nothing else.

Getting the corporate thugs out of power would cure MY depression.

[lilymidnite]

2. It's a good start

I'd like to see the statistics on 'situational depression' and how it has undoubtedly increased since Junior took office.

E.

[VegasWolf]

3. There goes Tom Cruise jumping on the couch again! nt