Letter: Gov't should help more 9/11 victims
The ash of pulverized building materials created when the Twin Towers collapsed after terrorists flew commercial airlines into them can be seen clearly. The Civil Air Patrol photo crew was flying at 2,000 feet altitude. (Sept. 12, 2001) Credit: Lt. Col. Warren Ratis, Civil Air/WR
The Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 is completely out of touch with mainstream health policy in excluding coverage for first-responders with "only mental and emotional injuries" .
As early as 1996, Congress recognized the artificial dichotomy between physical and mental health and enacted the Mental Health Parity Act, which prohibits discrimination in insurance coverage of mental health and substance abuse treatment. Many states, including New York, also have parity regulations. It has been scientifically documented that well over half of all medical visits have some emotional or behavioral component. Our first-responders deserve the same protections as other health consumers.
Gloria S. Rothenberg, Merrick
Editor's note: The writer is a psychologist.
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