This Year's Progress
Op-Ed
This Year's Progress
Dear Friends:
Last week, the House of Representatives finally acted on one of the late Senator Paul Wellstone's most cherished causes: mental health parity.
221 Democrats and 47 Republicans voted to pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act (H.R. 1424), which will require health insurers who cover mental health to provide the same level of coverage that they offer for physical treatments.
Mental illnesses and addictions like depression or alcoholism affect more than one in ten Americans, and are estimated to cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars in lost productivity every year. This bill will help end the pattern of senseless and immoral discrimination against those suffering from mental illness and put to rest the outdated notion that their afflictions are less legitimate or severe than physical ailments.
Under H.R. 1424, people seeking mental health treatment will receive the same deductibles, copayments, out-of-network coverage and other benefits as all other patients. Investing in equal care for mental illness and addiction will have a minimal impact on health care costs while dramatically improving the health, happiness and productivity of Americans.
Passing this bill is both the economically smart and morally right thing to do. Paul Wellstone believed passionately in this, and I am so grateful that our colleague, Congressman Jim Ramstad, has taken up the cause and guided this legislation to passage. Rep. Ramstad co-led a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the need for mental health parity, and he boldly spoke out about his own struggles with alcohol addiction and the importance of treatment.
I look forward to reconciling the House and Senate versions of this bill and getting it to the President's desk as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Betty McCollum Signature
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Serving Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District
The Week Ahead
On the Floor: The 2009 Budget
This week, the House will consider the Democratic Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2009. The budget rejects the President's reckless cuts and makes fiscally responsible investments in American priorities like health care, middle-class economic relief and homeland security. Click here for more information. (PDF).
Last Week's Highlights
Doubling the Size the Peace Corps
Rep. McCollum is an original cosponsor of H.R. 5535, the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2008, which was introduced last week. The bill will increase the number of Peace Corps volunteers serving around the world to over 15,000, enabling many more Americans to contribute to global development efforts while fostering peaceful engagement and positive perceptions of the United States abroad.
The Importance of Health Care Investments
In a March 6 hearing of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services attended by Rep. McCollum, witnesses testified that President Bush's cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control are causing irreparable harm to Americans' health. On the other hand, boosting funding for disease research and prevention now will create far-reaching improvement in U.S. health and economic prosperity.
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