Every week, 2,000 - 3,000 Second District residents write to me about the issues pending before Congress, and I work hard to respond to each person as promptly and thoughtfully as possible.  On this "Letter of the Week" blog, I highlight constituent letters that are of general interest.  If you'd like to share your own views, please feel free to e-mail me at any time!

Dear Nancy,

Thank you for your support of social welfare programs. This letter is to urge your support for immediate House passage of S 558, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. This important legislation passed the Senate with unanimous support in September 2007; however, the House has not yet acted on this important legislation.

As you know, this proposal to ensure equitable coverage for mental illness treatment has been before Congress for more than a decade. As a KU Social Welfare practicum student at a local psychiatric hospital, I have seen first hand how mental health benefits are less comprehensive than other health benefits. It is time to end the insurance discrimination faced by people living with mental illness.

Not only do health plans impose more comprehensive limited on inpatient days or outpatient visits, but also co-pays are frequently higher for mental illness in comparison to other medical conditions. Mental illnesses are real illnesses and treatment works, if individuals have the resources to access treatment.

I am proud to have you represent Kansas. Thank you for your diligent efforts to promote social programs that give all Americans an opportunity to improve their quality of life.

Sincerely,

Bobby from Topeka, KS

Dear Bobby,

Thank you for writing me about H.R. 1424. This bill mandates parity in insurance benefits between mental and physical health care. It passed the House on March 5, 2008 with strong bi-partisan support, and it now goes to the Senate, where a weaker parity bill passed last year. I was one of the bill’s 274 cosponsors, and I was proud to see us work across party lines to address such a critical issue.

Twelve years ago, Congress passed the first mental health parity law, the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA). It was quite minimal: parity was limited to a requirement that insurers not have higher annual or lifetime spending limits for mental illness as opposed to other illnesses – and even this requirement only applied to insurance provided through large employers that chose to include mental health benefits in their health insurance.

A lot has happened in the time since then. Forty eight states, including Kansas, passed more substantial parity legislation than MHPA. In 1999, the Surgeon General came out with a report showing the devastating impact that mental illness has on America. He estimated that one in five Americans has a mental illness, but only one in three of those get treatment. Members of Congress responded – a bipartisan majority of the House has cosponsored strong mental health parity legislation in every Congress this decade – but the leadership never let the bills come to a vote.

Now, with the change in leadership, we have finally passed meaningful mental health parity legislation. H.R. 1424 requires parity in all of the following areas: inpatient and outpatient care, in-network and out-of-network providers, deductibles, co-payments, co-insurance, and out-of-pocket expenses. It extends this parity to all mental illnesses and addictions recognized by the American Psychological Association.

As recognition of mental illness among the young (like Autism spectrum disorder) and old (like Alzheimer’s disease) spread, old stigmas and stereotypes have began to crumble. Unfortunately, untreated mental illness still costs us far too much in lost money and productivity (over $500 billion) and, more importantly, lost years and lost lives. I hope this legislation begins to change that, and I hope to see it signed into law before year’s end. Thank you again for your interest in this important issue.

Sincerely,

Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress