Edward J. worked as a midlevel executive in the insurance industry for 15 years. Although he suffered from bouts of depression all of his adult life, medication and individual therapy enabled him to cope. His favorable response to the new antidepressants, the serotonin reuptake inhibitors, made him symptom free most of the time. Despite his struggles with a mood disorder, he prided himself on being an excellent breadwinner for his family. W O years ago, his company downsized and laid him and 550 other employees off. Edward J. not only lost his job, but his health insurance as well. Through COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act; Dacso & Dacso, 1995), he was able to maintain his coverage by paying his own monthly premiums. After 12 months, his financial situation worsened. He lost his house and could not afford COBRA payments. He became immobilized with severe depression. He was unable to pay out of pocket for his psychiatric billnearly $250 for medications, $200 for monthly therapy sessions, and another $120 for his psychiatric-medication consultation. He went without any treatment for several months.Last April, Edward committed suicide. The note he left stated that his wife and children could live well fiom what they collected from his life insurance and that his family was better off without him.