Action needed: Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act
LaMarr
"Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act"-would require
health plans to cover mental health and substance abuse services
fairly, using the same coverage practices that they use for general
medical care. On Wednesday, September 26 the House Ways & Means
Committee will vote on this legislation. If your Representative is a
member of the Ways & Means Committee, please call him or her by
Wednesday morning to urge a "YES" vote on the bill, and a "NO" vote on
all weakening amendments!
STEP 1: Find out who your member of Congress is by going to www.house.gov
and typing in your zip code in the box in the upper left-hand corner.
STEP 2: Find out if your member is on the Ways & Means Committee by
checking this list of committee members.
STEP 3: If your member is on Ways & Means, make a call!
SUGGESTED MESSAGE
"I'm calling to ask the Congressman/woman to VOTE FOR H.R. 1424 this
Wednesday in the Ways & Means Committee, and to VOTE AGAINST all
amendments to substitute weaker language. Americans deserve the same
mental health parity protections that members of Congress enjoy, for
all mental and addictive disorders, not just the ones health plans
choose to cover."
BACKGROUND
Several amendments are expected to be offered to weaken H.R. 1424,
including by substituting the language of the parity bill recently
passed by the Senate, S. 558. Although S. 558 is a good step forward,
H.R. 1424 is an even stronger bill, and will do more for individuals
with mental and addictive disorders:
*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 would require those health plans
covering mental and addictive disorder services to cover the full
range of mental disorders for which members of Congress are covered.
S. 558 would let private-sector health plans continue to deny coverage
for certain diagnoses, although everyone enrolled in the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program is covered for the entire range of
mental and addictive disorders. Ask yourself (and ask your
Congressman!): If coverage for the full range of mental disorders is
good enough for members of Congress and other federal employees, why
isn't it good enough for everyone else?
*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 would make sure that patients have
equal access to out-of-network providers. All too often, health plans
restrict access to care by restricting access to covered providers.
H.R. 1424 addresses this issue by requiring those health plans which
allow out-of-network coverage for general medical care to provide
similar coverage for out-of-network care for mental and addictive
disorders.
*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 requires health plans to make public
their criteria for determining "medical necessity." Contrary to some
claims by opponents, H.R. 1424 allows health plans to continue to deny
payment for services which are not medically necessary. The bill
does, however, require health plans to make clear how they make such
determinations.
*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 would NOT override state managed care
and medical management laws. Many states have passed such laws in
order to protect their citizens. H.R. 1424 keeps these laws in place.
Thank you for your help! For more information, visit the "Wellstone
Action!" website focusing on the parity legislation, or contact:
Scott Barstow
Director of Public Policy and Legislation
American Counseling Association
5999 Stevenson Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22304
703.823.9800 x234
703.405.9711 (cell)
703.823.0252 (fax)
800.347.6647 x234
703.823.6828 TDD
sbar...@counseling.org
www.counseling.org