Kennedy to Deliver Speech in Edgartown on Mental Health

FILE - In a Monday, March 30, 2015 file photo, former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy speaks at the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, in Boston. A new memoir by Kennedy takes a hard look at his life, and how he and family members including his father struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues as Americas most famous political family. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE – (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

MARTHA’S VINEYARD – Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy is heading to Martha’s Vineyard today to stand with several hundred local residents and appeal to President Barack Obama to make mental health parity part of his presidential legacy.

“I applaud President Obama’s leadership on health reform,” said Kennedy. “He’s done more than any president to expand health coverage for all Americans. As we near the end of his service in our nation’s highest office, I urge the president to take action to end the unfair, discriminatory practices of insurance companies that have contributed to baseless, and often illegal, denials of healthcare for those living with mental health conditions or addiction.”

Kennedy said that many insurance companies currently refuse to disclose medical management and utilization review requirements and many Americans continue to be denied mental health care.

Kennedy will deliver a keynote address at a fundraiser for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services at 5 p.m. today at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown.