Under the Radar
I wrote last week about a Tourette Syndrome Association event I attended in DC, and a bill they support, co-sponsored by Reps. Kennedy (D-RI) and Ramstad (R-MN). That bill — which would further equalize the insurance coverage for physical, mental, and other disorders — was reintroduced yesterday.
Key paragraphs, from the news release at Rep. Kennedy’s site, include these …
The bill expands the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 by requiring group health plans that offer benefits for mental health and addiction to do so on the same terms as care for other diseases. The legislation closes the loopholes that allow plans to charge higher copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and maximum out-of-pocket limits and impose lower day and visit limits on mental health and addiction care.
According to the Government Accountability Office, nearly 90 percent of plans impose such financial limitations and treatment restrictions on mental health and addiction care despite voluminous scientific research documenting the biological, genetic, and chemical nature of these diseases, and the effectiveness of treatment. Both the House and Senate version of the bill applies to group health plans of 50 or more people.
And these …
The Kennedy-Ramstad legislation is modeled after the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, which covers Members of Congress and other federal workers and dependents and which implemented equality in mental health and addiction coverage in 2001. According to an exhaustive study published earlier this year by the Department of Health and Human Services, the federal employees’ parity policy was implemented with “little or no increase in total MH/SA [mental health/substance abuse] spending�.
A majority of respondents to a National Mental Health Association survey indicated that they would support parity legislation even if it meant a $1 per month increase to their premiums. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that such legislation will increase health care costs less than that amount.
I’m always hesitant to describe any legislation as a slam dunk — but this one certainly seems to fit the bill (pardon the pun). And while I imagine the D’s will support this legislation, en masse, the R’s (based on the general attitude of GOP leadership to the version introduced in the last Congress) may be more hesitant. To that end, I’m concentrating my own outreach (seeking co-sponsors and votes) on R offices, starting with my Congressman, Todd Akin (R-MO), and then branching out to others with which I have contacts.
I know TMV readers don’t necessarily expect to be lobbied when they visit these pages, but I believe passionately in this cause. And for that reason, I hope you’ll excuse these friendly encouragements to …
1. Study the bill, especially if you have questions about it. (Here’s a link to the full text from Rep. Kennedy’s home page.)
2. If you agree with the legislation’s goals and caveats, please call or write the offices of your Members of Congress and ask for their support, especially if they’re on one or more of the three House Committees to which I understand the bill has been referred: Education & Labor; Energy & Commerce; and Ways & Means.
By the way, the official name of the bill in this Congress is “The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act� (H.R. 1367).
Finally, for anyone who hasn’t done this type of outreach before, here are a few basic pointers:
1. You can obtain DC office contact info by searching for your Representative’s Web site at www.house.gov. Importantly, each Rep’s Web site should indicate whether or not he/she sits on one of the relevant committees; see list above.
2. If your Rep does in fact sit on one of those Committees, ask to speak to a member of the office’s staff (a legislative assistant, legislative director, or legislative counsel) who advises the Rep on that Committee’s issues. If your Rep does not sit on one of those Committees, ask to speak to a member of staff who advises the Rep on issues related to health/healthcare.
If you experience problems, get the run-around, or get side-tracked by a discussion about subcommittees, please drop a comment in the comments field of this post, or better yet, email me directly at abel.reply@gmail.com.
For whatever you can and are willing to do, thank you, on behalf of all of us who know and care about people who would benefit from the passage of this legislation.
3 Responses to “Under the Radar”
This will only serve to increase the cost of health care, which will thus reduce its availability, at a time when most folks are complaining that it’s too expensive already. If there really was the ability to offer more comprehensive coverage at only $1 per month, the market would already be offering it, even the highly screwed up health care market we have.
The cost of health care is an issue to be addressed in much broader terms than just immediate cost. We should also factor in the long term cost of untreated mental diseases. Consider the physical conditions engendered by these, the cost of institutionalizing vs. out patient care and etc.
It’s been accepted in the medical community that preventative cate is actually a cost reducing mechanism. What is not prevented by early treatment can often result in much higher costs further down the roal.
I’m going to contact my congress people immediately to support this bill.
domajot,
Thank you — and well said.
PatHMV,
We may have to agree to disagree, though I respectfuly hope you’ll consider domajot’s points, not to mention the positive productivity and economic impact to the free market of individuals who get the treatment they need for these often neglected diseases. I can tell you from experience that without the equitable coverage we received, our son’s potential to be a contributing member to this society would have been severely compromised. Now, he is on track to reach his full potential. Our family is among the fortunate. So many others are not.
Thanks for listening.