Addiction News

Mental Health Parity Back on the Hill

Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) have reintroduced “The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act,” H.R. 1402. With one difference, this bill is identical to their parity bill from 2003, H.R. 953, which gained the co-sponsorship of a record 249 Members of the House. That number included an all-time high 46 House Republicans. As 229 of the 249 previous co-sponsors returned to the House, we have a large base of support that must be recontacted and asked for co-sponsorship.

The difference in the new legislation is that it no longer specifically excludes substance abuse services from parity protection. This is fair and appropriate in light of new data showing that parity in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program has had minimal cost. Members of Congress and their staffs are among the 8.5 million federal employees, retirees and dependents who have had parity for BOTH mental health and substance use disorders since January 2001. The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act was modeled on that federal employee benefit.

Background

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act expands the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 by prohibiting group health plans from imposing treatment or financial limitations on mental health benefits that are different from those applied to medical/surgical services. The legislation closes the loopholes that allow discrimination in the copayment, coinsurance, deductible, maximum out-of-pocket limit and day and visit limits. It applies only to group health plans already providing mental health benefits, and excludes (as does current law) health plans sponsored by employers of fewer than 50 people.