Dean Johnson, Cambridge

By Scott Kearnan - As an environmental planner, Dean Johnson’s primary concern is that all things comport in perfect harmony. But not every situation can be anticipated, and when it came to his daughter’s mental health, Johnson could never have planned for certain experiences.

“She was about 15-years-old,” he recalls, thinking back to when his daughter Kiki’s mental illness first became apparent. Initially, Kiki began experiencing some unpredictable but relatively benign bouts with crying jags, but before long her condition announced itself in a far more certain way.

“She was coming back from a ski trip [with classmates],” explains Johnson. “It was about 8 or 9 o’clock at night, and they stopped at a pizza place. Something set it [her illness] off, and she threw a tantrum. She started bashing the Coke machine, and she ripped off the plexiglass.”

“They called the police and sent her over to psychiatric at Cambridge City Hospital,” he remembers. “They didn’t even want to give her to me. It was really scary.”

Today, Kiki is 28-years-old and has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and her father says that she has her condition under control thanks to a combination of medication and successful completion of a behavior modification program. It was a long road to recovery, one pockmarked with various, stronger combinations of drugs prescribed to keep Kiki’s sometimes self-destructive behavior — including cutting — under control. If she hadn’t been covered under her family’s private insurance, Kiki’s treatments could have cost “tens and tens of thousands,” said Johnson.

Once Kiki graduated from college and her insurance plan expired, Johnson was vigilant in making sure that his daughter remained covered by quality insurance despite her own modest income.

“The thought of her not having coverage — we couldn’t accept that,” he says.

Johnson sought out what options would be best for Kiki, and eventually turned to Commonwealth Care. He was already familiar with health care reform as a result of his church’s relationship with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), a longtime advocate for Chapter 58. But he could not have anticipated the ease with which was he was able to access the information and the coverage for his daughter.

“We went online, checked it out, and downloaded the forms,” says Johnson, motioning to the computer at his home office in Cambridge. “I did a lot of it [the Commonwealth Care application process]. She signed it and put it in the mail … it went very well.”

Johnson was also surprised by the level of coverage available to his daughter. “The coverage on meds was better than I ever thought it even should have been,” he says. Not that he’s complaining. Johnson remains grateful that proper insurance coverage for his daughter is not something he’s had to worry about.