• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Can Scientologists deny cover for psychiatric care?

psychiatric care?

  • Total voters
    6
spud_meister

spud_meister

Veni, vidi, dormivi!
DP Veteran
Joined
Nov 6, 2009
Messages
36,916
Reaction score
22,237
Location
Didjabringabeeralong
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Communist
Can Scientologists run businesses deny cover for psychiatric care?
 
spud_meister said:
Can Scientologists run businesses deny cover for psychiatric care?
Click to expand...

Short answer: maybe.

Long(er) answer: depends on whether the courts decide the state has a legitimate interest in seeing people have psychiatric coverage, and whether forcing employers to cover it is the least disruptive was to meet that interest.
 
i can't wait for all the court cases where just this kind of thing will be brought up.
I predict that this bad decision will need to be re-visited within the next two years because of the can of worms it will have opened up.
 
Pandora's box is open.
Religious nutjob store owners are going to want to deny things like transfusions, psychiatric care, etc for religious reasons.
Can't wait for the women must wear scarves rule or the men must not shave rule. Heck even the women can't work rule, that would be a fun one.

Don't kid yourselves, somebody, in the land of lawyers, will attempt these suits.

Owner's religious rights versus worker's religious rights, hmmm. Who wins? no surprise there. Even at what could be 1000s to 1 odds too!
 
spud_meister said:
Can Scientologists run businesses deny cover for psychiatric care?
Click to expand...


The answer is yes, but the question is pretty much pointless because it's purely hypothetical. You might as well ask if a Branch Davidian employer could deny coverage for its quadriplegic employees. People who would need insurance for the treatment of psychiatric conditions are not likely to be able to maintain full time benefitted jobs in the first place such that it would EVER come up that a Scientologist employer was "denying coverage" for psychiatric treatment expenditures. It is purely a hypothetical question -- it would never play out in reality.

This was one of the things in the misnamed "Affordable Care Act" that I found especially stupid. The kind of mental illness requiring massive treatment expenditures is not a big risk among the privately insured. The people with severe enough mental illness that they need insurance coverage often cannot afford private insurance premiums, because the mental illness inhibits their ability to get or keep jobs, and they end up on SSDI/Medicaid or other governmental assistance programs to pay for their psychiatric care.
 
Neomalthusian said:
People who would need insurance for the treatment of psychiatric conditions are not likely to be able to maintain full time benefitted jobs in the first place
Click to expand...

Huh? I think you have a very warped idea of the kinds of people who need psychiatric treatment. Not everyone who sees a psychiatrist has problems to the point that they can't hold down a job. In fact most of the people who see a psychiatrist manage to work and function pretty normally.

My wife has been seeing one for two years to deal with depression brought on by her parents dying in a car accident, but she's still able to work a full-time job.
 
My employer provides health insurance that doesn't include mental health, so I guess the answer is yes.
 
Neomalthusian said:
The answer is yes, but the question is pretty much pointless because it's purely hypothetical. You might as well ask if a Branch Davidian employer could deny coverage for its quadriplegic employees. People who would need insurance for the treatment of psychiatric conditions are not likely to be able to maintain full time benefitted jobs in the first place such that it would EVER come up that a Scientologist employer was "denying coverage" for psychiatric treatment expenditures. It is purely a hypothetical question -- it would never play out in reality.

This was one of the things in the misnamed "Affordable Care Act" that I found especially stupid. The kind of mental illness requiring massive treatment expenditures is not a big risk among the privately insured. The people with severe enough mental illness that they need insurance coverage often cannot afford private insurance premiums, because the mental illness inhibits their ability to get or keep jobs, and they end up on SSDI/Medicaid or other governmental assistance programs to pay for their psychiatric care.
Click to expand...

Approximately a quarter of Americans adults suffer a diagnosable mental illness in any given year.

NIMH · The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom