Editors of the Minneapolis Star Tribune offer praise and caution over the mental health parity law passed last week. An excerpt:

The new law’s costs and impact need to be monitored carefully. Worrisome side effects to watch for: reduction in the number of employers offering insurance or narrowing by insurers of the range of products they offer, a regrettable outcome often accompanying state regulation. At the same time, the new law is a bold and pioneering step — one that will help end the discrimination and stigma faced far too long by families grappling with mental illness.

From the Wall Street Journal:

A growing number of financial service companies are springing up to help parents provide for the future care of their children with disabilities. They help navigate the maze of federal and state programs, and assist parents in setting up trusts, coordinating estate plans, and educating future caregivers.

These tasks have become increasingly vital as people with disabilities are living longer than ever before, frequently outliving the parents who support them.

Miami lawyer Barry Nelson (far left) set up a special-needs trust for his fourteen-year-old son Jesse, who has autism. The trust will be funded by life insurance when Nelson dies, and can be used to pay for expenses beyond what Medicaid or SSI would pay for.

Nelson says a special-needs trust “gives me — and it gives every parent — peace of mind.”

A sidebar provides a list of financial planning resources.

(Wall Street Journal photo)

Writing in the [UK] Guardian, Ben Adler says Sarah Palin has not backed up her promises with any agenda designed to help people with disabilities. An excerpt:

There are plenty of ways, from IDEA funding to expanded health coverage to Community Choice, that Palin could promise to serve the interests of people with disabilities. But so far Palin’s pledge to lead on disability issues because of her personal connection to the community has not been developed into more than mere rhetoric. And unless she specifies what exactly she would do for disabled children as vice-president, she risks creating the impression that all she is really seeking with that rhetoric is political reward.

… Obama has substantive plans for all people with disabilities

Writing in huffingtonpost.com, Paul K. Longmore says presidential campaign coverage has included a lot of talk about “special needs” children, thanks to Sarah Palin, but little about the issues that concern the 54 million Americans with disabilities of all ages.

Longmore compares the stances of the McCain-Palin ticket and the Obama-Biden ticket on healthcare, health insurance and social services for people with disabilities. An excerpt:

Even though 90 percent of the 54 million Americans with disabilities are adults, Palin, John McCain, and the news media have talked almost exclusively about children. And that talk has been mostly about “compassion” not “issues.” The McCain-Palin campaign website has a single page on “Americans with Disabilities for McCain,” but it says nothing about policy positions. Other pages mention autism and disabled veterans but no other issues.

In contrast, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have said little on the campaign trail about disability issues but their campaign website provides detailed policy proposals in a comprehensive “Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities.”

Paul K. Longmore is a professor of history and director, Institute on Disability, at San Francisco State University. His “Open letter to the disability rights constituency” appeared exclusively on this site last month.

From the Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal:

Passed as part of the Wall Street bailout this week was a measure, hailed by mental health advocates as a “great civil rights victory,” that makes it illegal for health insurance companies to discriminate against patients with psychological or behavioral disorders.

The mental parity law, one of many amendments included in the legislation to broaden legislative support for the bailout package, requires health insurance companies to charge the same deductibles, copayments, and out-of-pocket expenses for mental health treatments as for all other illnesses.

… The nonprofit Mental Health America estimates that 67 percent of adults and 80 percent of children requiring mental health services do not receive help, in large part because of discriminatory insurance practices.

UPDATE: Bailout provides more mental health coverage — New York Times

U.S. News & World Report lays out a list of tips for financial planning on behalf of children with disabilities. Many of these kids will require financial support throughout their lives, writes Kimberly Palmer. Government programs can cover some basic medical care, but people will lose eligibility if they have more than $2,000 in assets. Parents need to use wills and trusts to ensure that kids will have the support they need when they grow up.

Among her suggestions:

• Establish legal guardianship;
• Protect your child’s eligibility for public benefits; and
• Think about insurance policies and special-needs trusts.

Writing in The Progressive, Kathi Wolfe says people with disabilities want to hear specifics about what candidates are prepared to do to address issues like health care, education, employment, access and technology. Wolfe, who is blind, would like to see the campaigns talk about:

• Assuring health care coverage for people with disabilities,
• Assuring full funding for education for people with disabilities, and
• Removing barriers to employment that leave 70 percent of people with disabilities without jobs.

In this presidential campaign, the candidates have an opportunity to pay more than lip service to our issues. I hope they will seize it.