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eNewsletter - June 19, 2007
Insurance Equity Campaign Update
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health heard testimony on June 15 th about H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) testified, "This is an issue fundamentally of civil rights." Kennedy was joined by the other lead co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) at the hearing.
H.R. 1424 has gained 268 co-sponsors, more than 60 percent of the House membership. The next step as H.R. 1424 wends its way through the House is a July 11 hearing before the House Education and Labor Committee.
In the Senate, continued pressure from advocates, including David Wellstone, son of the late Senator Paul Wellstone who championed parity bills while in the Senate, has resulted in improvements in S. 558, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. The bill would still allow for pre-emption of stronger state laws in treatment limitations and co-pay and deductible payments, overriding advances that advocates fought long and hard to secure.