Opening Statements of US Rep. Patricia Schroeder, Chairwoman, to the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families:
"We are here this morning to shed light on, and we hope help put a stop to, one of the most disgraceful and scandalous episodes in the history of health care in America. I am referring to the unethical and disturbing practices in mental health care that are taking place from coast to coast. Our investigation has found: that thousands of adolescents, children, and adults have been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment they didn't need; that hospitals hire bounty hunters to kidnap patients with mental health insurance; that patients are kept against their will until their insurance benefits run out; that psychiatrists are being pressured by the hospitals to alter their diagnoses to increase profit; that hospitals "infiltrate" schools by paying kickbacks to school counselors who deliver students; that bonuses are paid to hospital employees, including psychiatrists, for keeping the hospitals beds filled; and that military dependents are being targeted for their generous mental health benefits. I could go on, but you get the picture. Clearly, this BUSINESS of treating minds - particularly this BIG BUSINESS of treating young minds has not policed itself, and has no incentive to put a stop to the kinds of fraudulent and unethical practices that are going on."
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