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The recent suicides of two St. Louis area men have prompted the chairman of the House Critical Issues Committee to launch an investigation.

Beejal (Bee-jhul) Patel (Pah-tell) has the story from Jefferson City.

Columbia Representative Tim Harlan says Gary Watts and Jim Buck committed suicide because their insurance companies had refused to pay for their mental health treatment.

Harlan sponsored this year's legislation that brought managed health care companies under tougher state regulation.

These latest cases, Harlan says, demonstrate one of the biggest remaining problems with the state's health care system.

Harlan says he plans to meet with physicians, insurance companies and hospitals to determine whether new laws might establish better guidelines.