The LDS Church and Deseret Mutual Benefit Association have received a national award for establishing parity in their coverage of mental health treatment for employees.
Elder Hugh W. Pinnock of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepted the "Religious Leadership Award" from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill during the group's annual conference in Chicago Thursday.The LDS Church is the first religious organization to implement insurance parity for mental health. In presenting the award, NAMI director Laurie Flynn said the LDS Church "has set a moral example that today shines as a beacon of faith, compassion and justice. Parity represents an investment in human dignity and potential in the best of American religious traditions."
Coverage of mental health care applies only to DMBA managed-care plan participants and became effective in January. According to Vicki Cottrell, executive director of NAMI Utah, DMBA officials say that means that 45,000 employees and family members have access to the coverage.
"That's a huge, huge message and a huge step," she said. "We've seen the benefits and comfort and stability" that coverage provides.