By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – A tragic story of mental illness took center stage in Buffalo Tuesday during a rally for passage of Timothy's Law.
"We have come forward in Timothy's name to push for mental health parity so no other family has to suffer a similar loss," said Tom and Donna O'Clair of Schenectady. They appeared in Buffalo to share their painful story of their 12-year-old son Timothy.
They are urging state lawmakers to pass Timothy's Law -- a mental health insurance parity bill. Tom O'Clair says by the time his son reached the age of eight, it was clear he needed treatment for mental illness. But the family could not always afford to pay for full treatment after doling out high health insurance co-pays. O'Clair says his son took his own life.
"Upon opening the door, we found Timothy had hanged himself in his closet," O'Clair said. "Seven weeks before his 13th birthday, we lost our little boy."
O'Clair says they were forced to budget Timothy's doctor visits.
"We found extremely competent care providers, but our access to them was limited," he explained. "We had 20 outpatient a year allotted to us and 30 in-patient days per year allotted to us."
The parity legislation was passed by the state Assembly last spring after a five year effort. Erie County Commissioner of Mental Health Michael Weiner says it is now before the Senate. But he says the insurance industry is waging opposition claiming it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
"I would be quick to say that there was a study done about a year ago by Price-Waterhouse Copper which indicated that the per member, per month, enrollment fees could be no more than a $1.26 per member, per month," Weiner said. "So there needs to be some will to negotiate a compromise."
The Mental Health Association of Erie County organized Tuesday's rally held at Unitarian Universalist Church on Elmwood Avenue. Executive director Roger Stone says 13 percent of the adult population and over 19 percent of youth received mental health care in 2002, but there are many more who need help.