Insurers Must Now Include Full Mental Health Coverage

In Time's list of Top 10 Underreported Stories of 2008, there's this little gem that floated under the radar:

Buried in October's financial bailout package was a landmark provision, 12 years in the making, that for the first time requires insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental and physical health. Bipartisan advocates say the new law could improve care — and reduce stigma — for the 80 million Americans suffering from mental illness and substance abuse. Many insurers largely favor the requirement, in part because research suggests a strong link between conditions such as untreated depression and physical ailments.

This is good news! Not only can the untreated get much needed treatment, the returning soldiers can seek treatment. This will also increase referrers to mental health professionals above and beyond the 10-point checklist that most GPs use to diagnose and treat mental illnesses presented during office visits.

My question is, why the hell did it take them so long to figure out that there is a mind/body connection? Why does it take legislation and laws to convince greedy bastards to do what is right?

(Why ask why, right?)