Bill SF3510, HF3479

Author
Ari Gaul
Winona Area Public Schools
Senate

Essay

Ariana Gaul
Model Legislature 2024
SF3510 Pro-Con Essay
Pro-Con Essay
SF3510 is a bill relating to health insurance, prohibiting insurers from requiring higher co-
payments with health savings accounts for children's mental health services. This bill prevents
insurers from obligating a higher co-payment from parents for their child’s mental health
services such as therapy, medication, crisis intervention, and home-based services. 21.8 percent
of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 have one or more of the common mental, emotional, and behavioral
health conditions. 75 percent of therapy is beneficial. According to The National Library of
Medicine claims “poverty in childhood and among adults can cause poor mental health through
social stresses, stigma and trauma. Equally, mental health problems can lead to impoverishment
through loss of employment or underemployment, or fragmentation of social relationships.” If
SF3510 is introduced, the financial burden lessens for the family in an already stressful
environment of mental heath.
The opposing argument of SF3510 is that it will create a financial deficit within the
billing infrastructure. The purpose of a co-payment with a savings health account is to use the
allocated funds available to cover copayment at time of services. When payments are not met it
can increase medical costs. Increased costs will make it harder for mental health services to be
obtained as government will then cut services to save money. Instead of waving copayments for
mental health patients, a better alternative would be to work with underprivileged families with
meeting deductibles. Mental Health America has stated that the government has cut mental
health budgets by four billion dollars over the past three years.
In time of mental health crisis a parent/gaurdian is not thinking of allocated funds that
may have already been used for prior health care costs, they are they thinking about the safety of
their child and family.

Works Cited
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/
https://slate.com/
https://mydenvertherapy.com/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
https://www.mhanational.org/