Mental Health Parity Bill Defeated

[Guest guest]

Many thanks to those of you who helped defeat this bill.

 

Much love,

 

Doc

 

 

Ian "Doc" Shillington N.D.505-772-5889Dr.IanShillington

 

Tuesday December 18 8:02 PM ET

House Nixes Mental Health Provision

By JANELLE CARTER, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans fended off Democratic-led attempts to force insurers to cover mental health conditions as they would any other medical problem. Democrats had tried to attach the provision to a $123 billion measure to pay for labor, health and education programs. But in a Tuesday meeting of House and Senate budget negotiators, Republicans held off the proposal in a 10-7 vote. ``People say we can't afford this during a recession - but we can't afford not to do it,'' said Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news - bio - voting record), D-R.I. ``We cannot wait any longer. Waiting is a death sentence for thousands of mentally ill Americans.'' Rep. Nita Lowey (news - bio - voting record), D-N.Y., said that lawmakers ``shouldn't be allowing the health industry to sidestep their responsibility.'' But Rep. Anne Northup (news - bio - voting record), R-Ky., argued that the measure would lead to higher insurance costs and more uninsured. ``Insurance companies are not going to take in $1 million worth of premiums and pay out $2 million worth of benefits,'' Northup said. House Republicans promised to hold hearings on the issue next year. The measure, authored by Sens. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn. and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., passed overwhelmingly in the Senate, but faced opposition from the insurance industry. Domenici made an impassioned plea to his House colleagues to pass the measure. ``If they're sick they're supposed to be covered,'' he said. The provision would not have required companies to offer mental health coverage as part of employee health benefits. Companies that did would be required to provide the same level of coverage for mental health as they did for physical health, from routine checkups to major surgery. That means insurers would have to charge the same co-payments and deductibles for either types of conditions, whether influenza or schizophrenia. The proposal would have expanded a 1996 law, which expires this year and mandates equal footing only for annual and lifetime benefits provided patients - not hospital stays or doctor visits. Lawmakers later agreed to an amendment that extends current law for one year. The Congressional Budget Office (news - web sites) estimated that the mental health provision would cost private insurers $23 billion over five years, or a 1 percent increase in insurance premiums. The government would also lose about $5.4 billion over 10 years, under the assumption that to pay for the mandated benefit, some employers would cut wages, which would in turn reduce income and payroll taxes, the CBO said. The overall bill covers spending for an array of health, education and labor programs, including a $3 billion increase for research efforts at the National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) - a 15 percent boost from last year.