WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) applauded final passage of landmark mental health parity legislation on Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives. The measure was passed in the Senate earlier last week. The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 provides parity between health insurance coverage of mental health benefits and benefits for medical and surgical services.
“It is so important that people get the treatment they need for both mental illnesses and physical illnesses, yet millions of Americans who need mental health treatment can’t get help, many times because their health insurance doesn’t provide adequate coverage,” said Senator Casey. “At long last, individuals suffering from mental illness and addictions have access to the help they need and deserve. I want to thank Senator Ted Kennedy who has championed this bill for years; it was through his hard work along with the efforts of the late Senator Paul Wellstone and Senator Pete Domenici as well as Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, that this bill finally became law.”
The President has already signed the legislation, which was a component of the economic stabilization bill. Traditionally, insurance companies have charged mental health patients higher deductibles and co-payments than those charged for medical services. This bill does not mandate that group health plans cover mental health or addictions treatment, but for those that do, coverage must be equitable to that offered for medical treatment. The requirement applies to health plans that cover 50 or more employees, and is estimated to affect up to 113 million individuals.
Senator Casey worked diligently with Pennsylvania and national legal experts as well as Pennsylvania advocates and state government officials to secure language in the bill that would not preempt Pennsylvania state law on mental health and substance abuse coverage.
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“It is so important that people get the treatment they need for both mental illnesses and physical illnesses, yet millions of Americans who need mental health treatment can’t get help, many times because their health insurance doesn’t provide adequate coverage,” said Senator Casey. “At long last, individuals suffering from mental illness and addictions have access to the help they need and deserve. I want to thank Senator Ted Kennedy who has championed this bill for years; it was through his hard work along with the efforts of the late Senator Paul Wellstone and Senator Pete Domenici as well as Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, that this bill finally became law.”
The President has already signed the legislation, which was a component of the economic stabilization bill. Traditionally, insurance companies have charged mental health patients higher deductibles and co-payments than those charged for medical services. This bill does not mandate that group health plans cover mental health or addictions treatment, but for those that do, coverage must be equitable to that offered for medical treatment. The requirement applies to health plans that cover 50 or more employees, and is estimated to affect up to 113 million individuals.
Senator Casey worked diligently with Pennsylvania and national legal experts as well as Pennsylvania advocates and state government officials to secure language in the bill that would not preempt Pennsylvania state law on mental health and substance abuse coverage.
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