Government Relations Action Alert

Call Toll-Free 1-866-PARITY4

Urge Previous U.S. House Parity Supporters to Stand with President Bush and Cosponsor New Parity Legislation

THE ISSUE AT HAND

On April 29, President Bush stood with Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), a longtime parity proponent, and expressed his strong support for passage of mental health parity legislation this Congress. The President, Senator Domenici, and House Republican leaders are attempting to craft a compromise parity bill that all involved can support.

On March 20, 2002, U.S. Representative Marge Roukema introduced H.R. 4066, which is the House companion to S. 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act, the legislation that passed the Senate unanimously as the Domenici-Wellstone Amendment to H.R. 3061 back in October, 2001.

As of today, H.R. 4066 has only 149 cosponsors-- many more are needed to keep the parity fight strong. We need all 224 U.S. Representatives who have previously expressed support for mental health parity to become co-sponsors of H.R. 4066.

ACTION NEEDED

Please call, FAX, or email Members of the House of Representatives listed below and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 4066, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2002.

You can use 1-866-PARITY4 (1-866-727-4894); this toll-free number, established by the Coalition for Fairness in Mental Illness Coverage, will connect you to the U.S. Capitol Switchboard, where you can ask for a Representative's office by name. If you are not sure who your Representative is, the Capitol Switchboard can determine which one by zip code. Once you've been connected to an office, be sure to ask to speak with the "Mental Health Legislative Assistant" and ask him/her if their Representative will cosponsor H.R. 4066, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2002.

Making a phone call in support of Mental Health Parity is the most effective grassroots tool; however, you can visit NASW's web site and send a letter on this issue to your Representative through Congress Web.

Take Action Now! http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp

TARGETED MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Listed by state with Republicans shaded

BACKGROUND

H.R. 4066 is basically identical to the version of S. 543 which was offered as an amendment to the FY2003 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill by Senators Domenici (R-NM) and Wellstone (D-MN), agreed to by the full Senate in October, and stripped out of the conference report by House Republicans in December.

Last January, Representative Roukema had introduced H.R. 162, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 2001, which had included coverage for substance abuse disorders, while S. 543 did not. Given the fact that 224 Representatives had signed a letter in support of the retention of the Domenici-Wellstone Amendment in the Labor-Health and Human Services FY2003 Appropriations Conference Report which did not contain the substance abuse provisions, Representative Roukema decided to make a statement and formally introduce on the House side the language that enjoys widespread support.

H.R. 4066 would expand upon the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act by providing full parity for all categories of mental health conditions listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), subject to medical necessity. Health insurance plans would be forbidden from applying different deductibles, co-payments, out-of-network charges, inpatient day and outpatient visit limits for mental health care than those for medical and surgical health care, if mental health benefits are offered. Like the 1996 Act, none of the bills would mandate that plans offer mental health benefits if they currently do not. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees would be exempted.