Vermont governor honored for work with mental illness insurance law

Ian Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat Dr. Alan J. Gelenberg, professor and head of the UA Department of Psychiatry, presents Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont with the Schorr Family Award. The University of Arizona College of Medicine presents this award to an individual who has furthered public understanding and acceptance of mental illness.

Democratic Gov. Howard Dean received the Schorr Family Award for Distinguished Contribution in Mental Health yesterday afternoon at a presentation at the "Swede" Johnson building.

Dean, who used to be a practicing physician, was honored for his work toward mental illness parity, including a bill he signed into law in June that makes it illegal for insurance companies to distinguish between physical and mental illness when providing coverage. Under the new law, mental illness is treated the same as any physical illness.

Dean said people who suffer from mental illness should be given the same treatment as individuals with physical ailments.

"Whether it is in the heart, brain or kidney, illness is illness," said Dean, who was awarded a plaque and a check for $2,500 from the Schorr Award Committee.

Vermont's bill is one that affects a large portion of the population, Dean said.

"Mental illness touches one out of every 10 Americans. That's an enormous constituency," Dean said.

Dean said he would like to see mental illness parity used everywhere.

"This can work nationally. We can do it everywhere. We just need to do little changes, piece by piece by piece," Dean said.

UA Psychiatry Department Head Dr. Alan Gelenberg, who serves on the award committee, said he was impressed with Dean's work.

"His ideas and hard-fought political experience is very timely with what we're trying to do in Arizona," Gelenberg said. " A number of us would love to see parity here."

The UA Psychiatry Department is also busy with its own research on mental health.

"The faculty is looking at new brain imaging techniques and have been doing trials of different medications for schizophrenia and depression," Gelenberg said.

The Schorr Award was created three years ago by Eleanor and Si Schorr, who began working for more public awareness for mental illness in 1975 when one of their children was diagnosed with such an ailment.

"We think the biggest barrier is the lack of public understanding. Mental illness is nothing more than another physical illness emanating in the brain," Si Schorr said.

The two previous award recipients were author Michael Winerip and Robert O. Boorstin, adviser to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.