Issue: The Presbyterian Washington Office supports H.R. 162/S. 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001, which has been added as an amendment to the Senate version of the Labor/ Health and Human Services appropriations bill. The House version of the bill, however, did not contain any similar amendment. Currently this bill is in conference, where conferees will work out differences between the two houses. There is a chance that the mental health parity amendment could be taken out in order to reach agreement, so there is a great need for constituents of House conferees to show support for this needed legislation. If legislators learn that many of their constituents care deeply about parity in mental health care, the amendment will have a greater chance of staying in the final version of the bill.

Call: The following are House conferees who need to know that their constituents support the mental health parity amendment to the Labor/HHS appropriations bill (H.R. 3061):

• Randy Cunningham (CA)
• Kay Granger (TX)
• Ernest Jim Istook (OK)
• Dan Miller (FL)
• Anne Northup (KY)
• John Peterson (PA)
• Ralph Regula (OH)
• Don Sherwood (PA)
• Roger Wicker (MS)
• Bill Young (FL)

Contact your representative even if he or she is not listed here. Tell your representative to show his or her support for mental health parity by urging his or her colleagues to keep the mental health parity amendment in the Labor/HHS appropriations bill.

U.S. Capitol Switchboard:
202-224-3121
Ask to be transferred to your legislator's office. It is important that you call immediately, as the conference will likely finish in the next two weeks.

Background: The mental health parity amendment in the Senate version of the Labor/HHS appropriations bill contains revisions to the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. This new legislation would prohibit group health plans from providing unequal coverage of mental health care compared to medical/surgical health care. Currently, many group health plans set higher copayments and deductibles for mental health care and place strict limits on the number and length of covered hospital stays and doctor visits for mental illness as compared to physical ailments.

"This is a matter of fairness and justice," said Sen. Paul Wellstone (Minn.), who introduced the legislation with Sen. Pete Domenici (NM). Wellstone, who has a daughter with schizophrenia, and Domenici, whose brother has severe mental illness, have fought very hard to keep this legislation visible in a Congressional session heavily involved with actions related to September 11th. According to the New York Times, the proposed mental health legislation has a greater chance of passing now than at any other time in the last decade .

Opponents of mental health parity legislation argue that increased coverage of mental healthcare needs may result in misuse and overuse of mental health benefits. They also fear that group plans may reduce all coverage, limiting physical healthcare benefits as they have limited mental healthcare benefits in order to comply with the parity mandate.

However, nearly three dozen states and the federal government have experimented with parity in treatment, and have found that costs have not been significant and premiums needed only to be raised by less than 1 percent. With these minimal costs to providers and patients, it is unlikely that benefits would be adversely affected by expanding mental healthcare benefits . In addition, when mental problems are diagnosed and treatment is started early and is consistent, the likelihood of recovery or successful management of mental disorders increases. This increase is both highly beneficial for patients and their families and is also cost effective, as early diagnosis and treatment may prevent worsening of a mental illness that could lead to missed workdays, involvement with the juvenile justice system (children with mental disorders), unemployment, or hospitalization.

This legislation is supported by hundreds of health, education, civil rights and religious organizations such as the Mental Health Liaison Group (a coalition of over 50 national mental health advocacy groups), the American Association of School Administrators, the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), the Association of Professional Chaplains, and the NAACP. The Presbyterian Washington Office has also shown support for this legislation and is committed to seeing that people's whole health needs are met. With better care for people with mental illness, God's vision of health and wholeness for all people may become more of a reality.

General Assembly
The 213th General Assembly (2001) approved overture 01-16 "On Advocating Passage of Legislation Requiring Health Insurance Plans to Provide Mental Health Benefits in Full Parity with Medical and Surgical Benefits" from the Presbytery of Pittsburgh.

As noted in the overture rationale, "Jesus calls us to ministries of healing and comfort with the outcasts of society. The more than 35 million people in the United States who suffer from serious mental illnesses too often receive inadequate health care and are socially isolated and outcast because of the stigma attached to these illnesses." Further, "Insurance parity marks a commitment to effective treatment for the mentally ill and to ending insurance discrimination against the mentally ill" (Minutes, 2001, p.419).