cialis he said While we’re on the subject of vacations, have you ever read the fine print on a travel insurance policy? You should.

A friend of mine discovered the hard way that travel insurance policies aren’t worth the paper–or cyberspace– they’re printed on. Planning to visit her son during his junior year abroad in Paris, she booked a trip at an unbelievably great price through an online travel site. Just to be safe, she sprang an extra $300 for insurance because the agent assured her it would provide her with peace of mind in case she had to cancel her plans for any reason.

Sadly, she did end up cancelling the trip because her son became severely depressed and needed to return home earlier than planned. Although she was very worried about him, at least she didn’t have the added burden of losing the prepaid $2500. Or so she thought.

After her son’s condition improved, and well before the filing deadline, she sent the insurance company a letter from her son’s psychiatrist, along with the rest of the required documentation. Months of back and forth correspondence ensued, with the insurance carrier claiming—no surprise here–that they needed copies of forms and credit card receipts she’d already sent. The scheduled date of the trip had long passed when she finally heard back about the disposition of her claim. The news, as you might have guessed, was not good.

According to the letter from the insurance carrier, the claim was “denied under General Exclusion (j) Mental, Nervous or Psychological Disorder; ‘Mental, Nervous or Psychological Disorder’ means a mental or nervous health condition including, but not limited to: anxiety, depression, neurosis, phobia, psychosis; or any related physical manifestation.” Huh?

I think this policy makes an unfair distinction between mental and physical illness–one that isn’t allowed in employer-sponsored, large-group health insurance plans. The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was signed into law by President Bush in October 2008 and went into effect for most policy holders in January 2011. “Mental health parity” means health insurance companies can’t impose tighter restrictions on coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment than for medical and surgical procedures.

The Act, as it’s called, only applies to health insurance. But the fine print in the travel insurance policy violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. And it’s a reminder that we haven’t come so far, after all, in our understanding of psychiatric illness. If you suffer from a “nervous disorder,” you’re still to blame.