Though mental illnesses have been regarded for a long time as real diseases, caused by certain dysfunctions of the brain, until now these kinds of health issues have not been treated as such by insurance companies. A bill concerning this exact issue was born in 1996 when proposed by New Mexico republican Pete Domenici.

The fact that insurance companies were not treating mental illnesses just like any other medical conditions was a reality Mr. Domenici was well aware of, as his daughter, Clara, had been previously diagnosed with schizophrenia. The New Mexico republican was aware of the fact that people were paying a lot of money for treating mental problems and that some of the costs were so high that it could have lead a small family to the point of bankruptcy.

The 12 year quest for this bill to actually pass and become law was a long and eventful one. Domenici’s partner in making the bill law, Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, died in a plane crash in the year 2002. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts replaced Wellstone in the efforts of making this piece of legislation pass. The bill’s history is marked by several milestones, such as the endorsement of President George W. Bush in 2002 and the small steps made in the negotiations with insurance companies. Also, Mr. Domenici had been diagnosed with a disease which alters the brain’s frontal lobe; fortunately the disease didn’t evolve as rapidly as doctors believed and today he can retire knowing that the bill he worked so much on has finally passed.

Recently, after the $700 billion rescue plan didn’t pass, the Senate voted on the Domenici Wellstone bill making it law. It really doesn’t matter if the bill passed only to act as a distraction from the collapsing economy, the important thing is that mental issues are going to be insured just like any other health problems, making life a lot easier for the ones that suffer from such conditions.