 And tonight's health watch, a major health care merger that could mean better mental health care in New Jersey. One of the oldest and largest behavioral health systems is joining with one of the largest hospital systems in New Jersey. CBS News Dr. Max Gomez tells us why this is so important. And it's important because traditionally mental and behavioral health issues really have been undervalued. And that's partly because of poor reimbursement and because of the stigma of mental illness. Even with the opioid crisis increasing suicide rates, PTSD and returning veterans, mental health can no longer be ignored. I was using Roxy's, I was using Oxy's, heroin in the end. That's the life of addiction in narcotics that Lea Budakavoli lived for more than 10 years. My life kind of just started collapsing around me and I needed to go to treatment. Lea did seek treatment more than 30 times in and out of various rehab centers. Nothing seemed to work. Donald Parker, the CEO of the Carrier Clinic, says that while opioid abuses now in the news, it's only the tip of the mental health iceberg. Mental health is the number one chronic disease in the world and it is also the number one reason for people to be disabled from their work. It's not a disease that you alone possess, it is a community disease that you have. Now in a major move to address this growing problem, the Carrier Clinic has joined with the largest hospital system in New Jersey to improve access to mental and behavioral health treatment. A dream for access to care and their deployment across their 17 hospitals gives us coverage for outpatient and less serious inpatient episodes in 17 hospitals. It's better access, it's better research, it's better financing. Another reason for the partnership is that mental health underlies and undermines treatment for many illnesses, so better mental health also means better physical health. It took a few tries at Carrier, but eventually this is where Lea was able to get sober. I'm so grateful, I'm living all over again. Now historically there's been acute care hospitals and a small number of clinics for behavioral health, plus often when a person has a mental health crisis they go to an emergency room and is usually not equipped to deal with those problems. This merger will remedy that by staffing ERs and joining hospitals and mental health centers. So it's Carrier and the large hack and sack meridian healthcare system together will actually help a lot of mental health and behavioral health issues in New Jersey. Uniting the health. Dr. Gomez, thank you so much.