June 2, 2006 – Capital Region Rally for Timothy's Law

Timothy’s Law rally draws people to Congress Park
The Saratogian June 3, 2006
By Paul Post

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Tom O'Clair planned on attending Mohonasen High School's senior prom Friday night, although his son, Timothy, wouldn't be there.

Timothy committed suicide four years ago at age 12 because he couldn't get adequate mental health services, his family says.

More than 50 people, from Essex County to Albany, rallied at Congress Park on Friday to support a bill called Timothy's Law that would require insurance companies to provide equal coverage for physical and mental health problems.

'Mental health parity has run off the walls of the state capitol for the past 16 years,' said Tom O'Clair, of Rotterdam.

At present, insurers are only required to provide coverage for 30 days of hospitalization or 20 outpatient visits for mental health cases. Timothy's Law would correct such apparent inequities.

The state Assembly has passed the measure, but it's been blocked in the Senate, where Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, has said the law would be too costly for small businesses that couldn't afford higher premiums. In 2004, the Senate passed its own mental health parity bill, and last year, negotiations went down to the wire, but a compromise wasn't reached before the session ended.

The Senate bill has three major differences from Timothy's Law, which is sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam:

- Businesses with less than 50 employees would be excluded.
- Coverage would not be extended to people with alcohol and drug dependency.
- Only biologically based mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar and delusional disorders, paranoia and eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia and binge eating are covered.

'That excludes millions of New Yorkers,' said Michael Seereiter of the nonprofit Mental Health Association in New York State.

Rallying in the heart of Bruno's district, people carried posters and shouted chants they hoped would reach the senator's Broadway office. Backers carried signs with messages such as, 'If Timothy were a senator's son, S.6735-A would have passed,' 'Insure the Future' and '35 other states have parity, why doesn't New York?'

The state Legislature's session ends on June 22, allowing just three weeks for the bill to pass. On June 20, Timothy's Law backers plan to rally during a baseball game at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy.

O'Clair said he'll keep fighting for as long as it takes.

'I'll be back until the New York Senate majority realizes that mental health parity is something we need and passes Timothy's Law,' he said.

David Seay, head of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, said he paid $10,000 out-of-pocket last year for his wife's mental health treatment. After nine months of haggling, his insurance plan paid him $1,700.

'That's 17 cents on the dollar,' he said. 'God forbid if she had cancer, heart disease or diabetes. But that would have been paid in full. That's not right and it's not fair.'

O'Clair said Timothy had multiple diagnoses, including defiance disorder, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. When their personal insurance coverage expired, the O'Clairs had to give up legal custody of their son so that he could become Medicaid eligible and receive treatment through Schenectady County's Department of Social Services.

Timothy spent nine months in foster care, followed by seven months in a children's home that had a round-the-clock support network.

'Timothy looked like he was at a level where he could come back home,' Tom O'Clair said.

Six weeks after returning home, Timothy committed suicide on March 16, 2001.

With proper funding, thousands like Timothy would get the 24-hour care they need to avoid such tragic fates, O'Clair said.

'They're being cheated out of what is a human right, the right to not suffer,' he said. 'To pass a lesser bill means that some people are still going to be left out in the cold.'

The O'Clairs have established two memorial scholarships to honor Timothy, who would have graduated from high school this year, one of many milestones they'll never enjoy.

'Throughout the rest of my life, there's going to be times when there's a tug at the heartstrings,' O'Clair said. 'Graduating from college, wedding day. The list goes on and on.



Rally for mental health care - Supporters of Timothy's Law gather in Congress Park in effort to sway state Senate
Albany Times Union June 3, 2006
By Kenneth C. Crowe II

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The drive to encourage the state Senate to pass Timothy's Law came to Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's district Friday as 100 supporters rallied in Congress Park.

Chanting in support of a law that requires treatment for mental illness and addictions to be covered by insurance companies, the campaign's backers were attempting to raise public awareness.

"Had there been mental health parity 16 years ago, Timothy and so many others would be with us today," said Tom O'Clair of Rotterdam. The proposed law is named after O'Clair's son, Timothy, who was 12 when he committed suicide by hanging himself. Timothy took his life after battling depression and other aspects of mental illness for five years.

After the rally, O'Clair said Timothy should have been attending his senior prom at Mohonasen High School on Friday.

The law, if approved, would require New York state, where such coverage is limited, to provide financial relief for the families that cannot afford treatment. The bill would put the state at the same level of coverage as 35 other states.

The state Assembly has passed the bill four years in a row, including this March. It's never made it to a vote in the Senate.

An alternative bill has been supported by the Republican majority in the Senate. Timothy's Law is backed by the Democratic minority.

"We believe the mental health parity bill addresses all concerns. It's based upon biological information from mental health experts," Kris Thompson, a spokesman for Bruno, said regarding the majority's bill.

J. David Seay, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness -- New York State, described his family's efforts in paying the bills for his wife Anita's treatment.

His family received just $1,700 from its insurance company to pay bills that totaled $10,000, Seay said.

The campaign has held rallies at Jones Beach on Long Island, White Plains, Binghamton, Utica, Watertown and Hudson. Organizers plan to hold rallies in Syracuse and Buffalo.