Issue Position: Mental Health Parity

Issue Position

Issue Position: Mental Health Parity

Millions of Americans' lives are impacted by mental illnesses and chemical addiction. There are more than 57 million people suffering from mental illness and 26 million suffering from chemical addiction. Last year, mental illness cost our economy $150 billion and addiction cost us $400 billion. I am proud to be original cosponsor of and vote for the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Addiction Equity Act. This bipartisan legislation would eliminate disparities in mental health and addiction coverage, while providing safeguards for employers.

On March 5, 2008, I spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of this legislation:

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.

In recent years, many brave Americans serving in the National Guard and Reserves returned home after fighting for our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan . They return to their civilian jobs and are subject to their private health insurance. The all-too-common tale, however, is that our veterans have witnessed horrors that many cannot even imagine. One in six of these veterans will experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, that can impair them for many years beyond their homecoming.

Many of these veterans choose to seek treatment at their local VA hospital or clinic. But for some of our veterans in rural areas of our country, like mine, it is far easier to use their private insurance and seek treatment from their local private doctor. Unfortunately, some of these veterans quickly find that PTSD is not covered in their health insurance plan.

Our veterans shouldn't have to travel for hours simply to meet with a qualified mental health professional. H.R. 1424 fixes this injustice and ensures that our veterans have the choice to seek treatment for PTSD through their private insurance plan.

This legislation requires group health plans to apply the same treatment limits on mental health or substance-related disorder benefits as they do for medical and surgical benefits. It would also guarantee that plans cover the same range of mental illness and addiction disorders offered by the federal employee health plan that Members of Congress use. Although this change would establish the federal parity as a minimum, it would not interfere with states that have stricter parity provisions.

This legislation also works to protect small businesses. It would only apply to employers with more than 50 employees. This bill would also allow health insurance plans to apply for an exemption from these new requirements if they drive up costs more than 2 percent the year after they take effect or more than 1 percent in subsequent years.

The Paul Wellstone and Mental Health Addiction Equity Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008. The U.S. Senate passed similar legislation, S. 558, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, in September 2007. The House and Senate will have to reconcile their versions of this legislation later this year.

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