House Passes Bill to Increase Access to Mental Health Treatment

By Betsy Miller Kittredge on 09-23-2008, 06:50 PM in

Ensuring better access to treatment for people suffering from mental illness, the House of Representatives today passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (H.R. 6983) by a vote of 376 to 47.

The bill requires group health insurance plans that cover mental and addiction health benefits to put those benefits on equal footing with physical ailments. Private health insurers generally provide less coverage for mental illnesses than for other medical conditions. H.R. 6983 prohibits employer group health plans from imposing limitations on coverage for mental illnesses that they do not impose on physical illnesses. For example, the legislation would require that group health plans offer the same terms for deductibles, limits on hospital stays and outpatient visits, and co-payments. The measure will allow employers to offer more comprehensive mental health coverage without significant additional cost, while significantly reducing out-of-pocket costs for plan participants.

Some states already have strong requirements for the coverage and treatment of mental illness. H.R. 6983 would not affect state laws that offer stronger consumer protections.

The bill is named after the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and current Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), both longtime advocate of mental health awareness and parity.

"Today, approximately forty-four million Americans suffer from mental illness, but only one-third receive treatment. One reason is that private health insurers generally provide less coverage for mental illnesses and substance abuse than for other medical conditions. This bill is an important step towards ending the stigma attached to mental illness and providing fair coverage to those in need.” -- Chairman George Miller