COLUMBIA - Health insurers in South Carolina will be required to include coverage for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses under a new law.

Gov. Mark Sanford allowed the legislation to become law without his signature Tuesday night.

The legislation doesn't cover drug- or alcohol-addiction treatments and would not be required on policies for businesses with 50 or fewer workers. They would be required to cover treatments for illnesses including bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and adolescent and childhood depression.

The legislation is similar to laws now on the books in 33 states, according to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of South Carolina.

Sanford said he was letting the legislation become law without his signature "because I fundamentally disagree with mandates as a means of broadening levels of health care."

It would be better to encourage health savings accounts, Sanford said.

The governor cautioned the legislature "against proceeding down the road of further intrusion in the marketplace and want to be clear that I am overwhelmingly predisposed to veto any other mandated coverage."