Email | Print

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) fully supports the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001. We are grateful for the leadership of Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) in seeking to end discriminatory health insurance coverage for children and adults with severe mental illnesses and their families.

This legislation will strengthen current federal law and finish the work that Congress began five years ago with the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. It will extend to most Americans the equitable coverage of mental illnesses already available to federal employees and to Members of Congress under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) program.

The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001 is consistent with the findings of the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health (1999) -- that there is no scientific justification for health insurance to cover the treatment of mental illnesses on different terms and conditions from physical illnesses. With its enactment, families across the United States will have more equitable access to effective treatments that are essential to recovery.

The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001 will require all health insurance plans to meet the standards set by the FEHBP, ending discriminatory treatment limitations and financial requirements. It would cover the full range of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), major depression, obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders, and serious childhood mental illnesses, among others. This legislation will strengthen the 1996 law by prohibiting unequal restrictions on annual or lifetime mental health benefits, inpatient hospital days, outpatient visits, and out-of-pocket expenses.

The approach is similar to that recently taken by many states. Today the majority of Americans live in states that have parity laws -- 32 states currently have such laws, with others expected to follow in 2001. But federal legislation is needed as well, in part because the federal ERISA law has allowed self-insured plans to escape state parity requirements. The legislation does, however, exempt small businesses with 25 or fewer employees from the requirements of the bill.

The total cost of parity is low, because the removal of discriminatory limits is replaced with processes for assessing the medical necessity of proposed treatments. Parity is both affordable and cost-effective. With parity coverage for the treatment of mental illnesses, businesses may also recapture some of the low cost through reduced absenteeism; reduced healthcare costs for physical ailments related to mental illnesses; increased employee morale; and increased overall productivity.

With the October 1, 2001 sunset of the 1996 federal law looming on the horizon, NAMI urges the Senate to act swiftly on this historic legislation. Now is the time to act.