Government News
House Passes New Bill For Mental Health Parity
On March 5, 2008, the House of Representatives passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and
Addiction Equity Act of 2007 (HR 1424) by a vote of 268-148. The bill amends the Mental Health Parity
Act of 1996 that requires employers to offer workers equal health care coverage for mental and
physical illnesses. The current law allows insurers to set higher co-payments or place stricter limits
on mental health benefits.
Based on language from the HR 1424 bill, this new legislation would "require equity in the
provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans, [and]
prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and
employment, and for other purposes."
Some lawmakers support the bill because they believe it will provide more access to mental health
treatment.
"This legislation will provide meaningful benefits by defining the scope of the benefits to be
covered under a health plan. It will not pre-empt stronger state mental health parity laws," said
George Miller, D-Calif., chair of the House Education and Labor Committee.
But others believe this new bill will not accomplish parity.
"Despite widespread bipartisan support for more-equitable coverage of mental health benefits,
the bill pushed through the House today does not accomplish the goal of providing parity," said Rep.
Howard P. McKeon, R-Calif., the ranking minority member of the House Education and Labor Committee.
"Instead, it creates new mandates so onerous that they could do far more harm than good, potentially
squeezing employers out of the voluntary health care system altogether or eliminating the very mental
health benefits we are trying to provide."
For more information on this story, go to http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_024870.asp.
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