Have a Gram, Don't Give a Damn!

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"The leading drug-industry trade group and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are working ... to demonstrate the cost of depression in the workplace and to show employers that treating affected workers would improve the bottom line," reports The Hill. The American Psychiatric Association, Chamber and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America endorsed a "depression calculator," which allows employers to estimate the effect of untreated depression on their company's profits, through absenteeism and low productivity. The calculator also figures "how much the business would save if employees were treated." However, the Chamber opposes mental-health-parity legislation that would ensure equal mental health and substance abuse healthcare coverage; their healthcare policy director explained, "employers do not often get a bottom-line return regarding employee benefits ... treating depression is an exception."