South Carolinians with mental disorders can receive help 29 percent of the year under a bill passed by a House subcommittee last week. The other 260 days of the year, the mentally ill would be on their own.

The subcommittee bowed to pressure by insurance lobbyists and business owners who claim that giving the mentally ill treatment equal to a person with a heart disease would be cost prohibitive.

State senators last month passed a bill that would require private health insurers that do business in South Carolina to provide an equal level of coverage for mental illness as they offer for other illnesses.

That is how it should be. To pretend that mental disorders are not as serious as other medical problems -- like a broken arm -- is either naive or very mean.

The House Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee amended the Senate bill to limit mental health coverage to 45 days of inpatient coverage and 60 days of outpatient coverage.

Before the House completes its discussion and completely guts the bill, members should call former Clemson University football coach Danny Ford and the school's athletics director, Terry Don Phillips, to testify. Ford's wife suffers from extreme clinical depression, according to news accounts. Phillips' 27-year-old son has schizophrenia. They are among the more high-profile people who know what it is like to cope with mental illness, but citizens in every neighborhood are dealing with the same issues.

Education is key to understanding the problems associated with mental illness, and these men could give the House a good deal of information on the importance of parity in coverage.

South Carolina has a real problem. Reports published last week suggested that one in five South Carolinians suffers from mental illness. With a doctor's guidance, many of these people could become happy, functioning, contributing adults.

A state has an obligation to look after those who have problems. Before lawmakers sign off on this bill, they should listen to those who deal with the problem on a daily basis instead of those who examine only the financial obli-gation of insurance companies. Ignoring mental health and doing too little for the mentally ill has a cost, too.