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Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-O7) Visits Eagleville Hospital

Congressman Sestak, at left, meets Eagleville Foundation Board Member Susan McNamara, and Eagleville Hospital Senior Management.

On April 2 Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) toured Eagleville Hospital to highlight his support for creating parity in the national health care system with the treatment of mental illness and substance abuse.

"Mental illness, including substance abuse, is one of the leading disabilities in America- an estimated 26.4 percent of Americans aged 18 and older (about one in four adults) suffer from diagnosable mental illness. Yet, our current health care system is not one that effectively promotes recovery from mental illness," noted Joe. "I applaud Eagleville for the great work they do in treating substance abuse, but we must ensure that health plans offer fair and equal coverage for mental health care."

To bring equity to the treatment of mental illness and substance abuse, Congressman Sestak recently partnered with Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) to successfully offer two amendments to H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which will improve mental health care for our wounded soldiers. The first amendment highlights the fact that mental health care is an essential component to the medical services offered to our Veterans and the members of our Armed Services by clarifying that 'medical care' as discussed in H.R. 1538 includes mental health care services. The second amendment, also offered with Congressman Kennedy, requires the Secretary of the Department of Defense to develop a plan to help prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other stress-related psychopathologies (including substance abuse conditions) from developing in our military service members. In addition, it requires the Secretary to submit to Congress within 180 days a plan for establishing a Peer-Reviewed research program within the Defense Health Program's research and development function to research the prevention of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how to best strengthen the psychological resiliency of our military service members. Both amendments passed with unanimous support.

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