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Recovery in the News
Rhode Island congressman visits state to tout mental health bill
Newsday
December 3, 2007
U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island said Monday that federal legislation requiring equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses stands a good chance of passing Congress next year.
"A very promising outcome is in sight," said Kennedy, who spoke at a mental health round-table discussion organized by U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Kennedy has been traveling the country, hearing testimony from people with mental illness. Last year, he crashed his car into a U.S. Capitol barricade in the middle of the night. He agreed to a plea deal on a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs.
"I myself am a consumer of mental health care as a recovering alcoholic and addict and someone with bipolar disorder," he said. "Having met with my fellow consumers around the country, I'm feeling a real surge of involvement from those in the field."
Kennedy said the remaining differences between the House and Senate versions of the mental health parity bill are in the final stages. He said he believes the legislation will receive bipartisan support next year in the Congress.
"Frankly, we believe it is of such national importance it's going to get the attention that it deserves," he said.
Connecticut already has a mental health parity law on the books. But Murphy, who helped to pass the legislation as a state senator in 1999, said the federal law is needed because Connecticut's only affects a certain number of plans. The new federal law would cover all plans that offer mental health coverage.
For example, limits on benefits for mental health treatments can not be any more restrictive than limitations placed on comparable medical and surgical benefits.
Kennedy said the public is becoming more aware of the importance of mental health care because of the many soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder.
"It's the interest in the veterans' mental health that might even spur broader changes in the overall mental health system," he said. "Because the work that we need to do on behalf of the veterans is really the work we need to do on behalf of the whole country."
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.