[NYAPRS Enews] Kaiser: House Panel Passes Mental Health Parity Bill, Rejects Senate Version

[Harvey Rosenthal]

NYAPRS Note: A key US House Committee approved its Kennedy-Ramstead
mental health parity measure, which explicitly "would not pre-empt
states that have stricter parity provisions in place," like New York's
Timothy's Law.

 

House Panel Passes Mental Health Parity Bill, Rejects Senate Version

Capitol Hill Watch   Daily Health Policy Report   July 19, 2007

 

      The House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday voted 33 to 9
to approve legislation (HR 1424) that would require health insurers to
provide equal insurance coverage levels for mental and physical
illnesses, CQ Today reports. 

 

The legislation differs somewhat from a Senate measure (S 558) passed
earlier this year. The House bill would establish a federal parity as a
minimum and not pre-empt states that have stricter parity provisions in
place, while the Senate measure would pre-empt state laws regarding
financial requirements and treatment limitations and would not allow
them to impose more stringent guidelines. At least 35 states have mental
health parity laws, some of which are more extensive than either bill,
according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (Kimitch, CQ
Today, 7/18). 

 

The House bill, which was sponsored by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.)
and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.), has 268 co-sponsors (Leonatti, CongressDaily,
7/18). Some House Republicans "insisted that the Senate bill represents
a negotiated compromise and stands a better chance of becoming law," CQ
Today reports. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) offered the Senate measure as a
substitute amendment to the House version, but the move was rejected 27
to 16. 

 

Kline said, "The Senate bill is the product of two years of bipartisan
negotiations between a broad, well-respected group of senators, mental
health advocates, providers and business groups, who represent virtually
all interests in the debate." He added, "The House bill starts to
immediately unravel support of the Senate compromise" (CQ Today, 7/18). 

 

Committee Chair George Miller (D-Calif.) noted that 46 states have laws
regulating mental health coverage but that federal law restricts the
reach of those laws, and "many people are still left without sufficient
mental health coverage" (CongressDaily, 7/18). 

 

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=46339 

 

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