Contact Senate HELP Committee on Parity Legislation

 

March 27, 2003

THE ISSUE AT HAND

The “Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act” (S. 486/H.R. 953) was introduced on February 27, 2003 by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN).  The text of bill is the same as last year’s broad-based parity bill (S. 543 /H.R. 4066), which NASW strongly supported. More than 200 members have already expressed their support for the new bills by signing on as cosponsors. 

ACTION NEEDED

NASW members in support of the “Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act” (S. 486/H.R. 953) who are represented by Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee (http://health.senate.gov/) should contact their Senator.

Option 1:
Telephone your Senator at his or her home state office.  Those numbers are listed below.

Option 2:
Or write a letter to your Senator – see samples below.

Sample Script:
“As a professional Social Worker, I’m calling to urge the Senator to cosponsor the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act.  His/her cosponsorship is vital for passage of this legislation to ban insurance discrimination against people with mental disorders.”

Making a phone call in support of mental health parity is the most effective grassroots tool; however, you may visit NASW's Congress Web and send a letter on this issue to your Representative and Senators electronically.

Message:

To Non-Cosponsoring Senators: “As a professional Social Worker, I’m calling to urge the Senator to contact Chairman Gregg and ask that a markup be scheduled immediately on S. 486, the Domenici-Kennedy mental health parity bill.  It’s vital to pass this legislation to ban insurance discrimination against people with mental health disorders.” [Pronounced “doe MEN uh chee”]

To Cosponsors: “As a professional Social Worker, I’m calling to urge the Senator to contact Chairman Gregg and ask that a markup be scheduled immediately on S. 486, the Domenici-Kennedy mental health parity bill.  As a cosponsor, the Senator knows that it’s vital to pass this legislation to ban insurance discrimination against people with mental health disorders.”

Targets:

Non-Cosponsors of S. 486

Alabama:  Jeff Sessions (R)   251-265-9507
Missouri:  Christopher Bond (R)   573-634-2488
Nevada:  John Ensign (R)   702-388-6605
New Hampshire:  Judd Gregg (R), Chairman   603-225-7115
Tennessee:  Lamar Alexander (R)   615-736-5129
and Bill Frist (R)   615-352-9411
Wyoming:  Mike Enzi (R)   307-682-6268

Cosponsors of S. 486

Connecticut:  Christopher Dodd (D)   1-800-334-5341  toll-free in CT
Iowa:  Tom Harkin (D)   515-284-4574
Kansas:  Pat Roberts (R)   913-648-3103
Maryland:  Barbara Mikulski (D)   410-962-4510
Massachusetts:  Edward Kennedy (D), Ranking Member   617-565-3170
New Mexico:  Jeff Bingaman (D)   505-346-6601
New York:  Hillary Clinton (D)   212-688-6262
North Carolina:  John Edwards (D)   919-856-4245
Ohio:  Mike DeWine (R)   614-469-5186
Rhode Island:  Jack Reed (D)   1-800-284-4200  toll-free in RI
South Carolina:  Lindsey Graham (R)   864-250-1417
Vermont:  James Jeffords (I)   802-223-5273
Virginia:  John Warner (R)   804-771-2579
Washington:  Patty Murray (D)   206-553-5545

Sample Senate Letter:

The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senator (last name):

As a professional Social Worker and constituent, I am writing to urge you to ask Chairman Judd Gregg to schedule an immediate Health Committee markup of S. 486, the “Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act.”  Additionally I [thank you for cosponsoring // urge you to cosponsor] this bill by Senators Pete Domenici and Edward Kennedy. 

This bipartisan legislation would take great strides in ending the use of arbitrary, one-size-fits-all limits on mental health benefits that are different from limits on other medical and surgical benefits.  Passage of S. 486 can make a real difference for patients who now face higher coinsurance and arbitrary limits on the days of care that can help them with their mental disorder. As your Committee considers S. 486, it is important that the bill continue to apply to all mental disorders for which treatment is medically necessary, just as the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program does.

With over 50 Senators, over 200 House members and 250 national organizations, including the National Association of Social Workers, supporting full mental health parity, it is obvious that this much-needed legislation is long overdue.  President Bush echoed this sentiment last April when he urged Congress to pass parity legislation. 

I appreciate your consideration of my concerns and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

BACKGROUND

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act of 2003 (S. 486/H.R. 953) 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, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act would not mandate that plans offer mental health benefits if they currently do not. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt.

For more information, please visit www.socialworkers.org or contact Jim Finley, NASW Government Relations, at jfinley@naswdc.org.