Mental Health Parity - Senate Passage
LaMarr
Mental Health Parity - Senate Passage and House Action
The evening of Tuesday, September 18th, the Senate approved S. 558,
the "Mental Health Parity Act of 2007," which requires equal health
insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies
cover both. Senate passage of the bill, which occurred by voice vote,
is an historic step, bringing advocates one step closer in our years-
long quest for equal treatment for those who suffer from mental and
addictive disorders.
Earlier the same day, AMHCA and ACA members participated in a call-in
day to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to urge House passage of a similar
bill. The response to the toll-free phone line was so surprisingly
strong that the coalition decided to shut down the line before the day
ended, to avoid going even more over budget than we already had. With
your help, we generated more than 1,000 phone calls into the Speaker's
office. Speaker Pelosi is supportive of the legislation, and hopefully
the calls will reinforce her commitment to pushing the legislation
forward.
More progress within the House came this morning, with approval by the
House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee of H.R. 1424, the "Paul
Wellstone Mental and Addictive Disorder Equity Act". The subcommittee
approved the legislation after first defeating a series of weakening
amendments offered by Republicans. The full Ways & Means Committee is
expected to approve the legislation soon, which will leave approval by
the House Energy & Commerce Committee as the final step needed before
the bill is brought to the House floor.
AMHCA and ACA thank their members for participating in the call-in
yesterday, even if you tried calling and weren't able to get through
because the line had been closed down. Please stay tuned for further
alerts on this issue.
Please feel free to contact either myself or Scott Barstow with the
American Counseling Association (ACA) at 800-347-6647, ext. 234;
sbar...@counseling.org should you have any questions.
Beth Powell
Director, Public Policy and Professional Issues