Renew Calls for Mental Health Parity Action Alert

October 9, 2003

The Issue at Hand

Congress is approaching the expected end of its annual session in November and legislators are focused primarily on passing appropriations bills and a handful of others that the Bush Administration and GOP congressional leadership consider top priorities. The issue of mental health parity is not now among these priorities, but with sufficient public outcry it can be. Legislators, especially those with special influence on this issue, need to hear from their constituents at this critical moment. It is particularly important that large numbers of constituents of the special targets call and write.

Action Needed

Option 1: Call the toll-free Parity Hotline, 1-866-PARITY4 (1-866-727-4894), to contact your senators and representative to urge passage of mental health parity legislation before Congress adjourns. The Parity Hotline reaches the Capitol Switchboard, which can connect callers to their members of Congress. Alternatively, contact one of the state offices of your senators and a district office of your representative.

Option 2: A sample letter supporting the bill, which you can e-mail or fax to members of Congress, has been posted on NASW's Congress Web. Individual telephone numbers, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses are available through NASW's Congress Web: www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp

Targets: All members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Special Targets: Senate: Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)

House of Representatives: Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), and Reps. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Billy Tauzin (R-LA), John Boehner (R-OH), Bill Thomas (R-CA), Mike Bilirakis (R-FL), Sam Johnson (R-TX), and Nancy Johnson (R-CT); and the following physician members: Ernie Fletcher (R-KY); Dave Weldon (R-FL); and Michael Burgess (R-TX)

Phone Message: [ask for — and make the following points with — the Health Legislative Assistant for the member of Congress]:

Sample Senate/House Letter: (Also available online on NASW’s Congress Web: www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp)

The Honorable (full name)                                                          
United States Senate/House of Representatives  
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Senator/Representative (last name):

As a constituent, social worker, and member of the National Association of Social Workers, I am writing to urge your support for the “Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act” (S. 486/H.R. 953), sponsored by Sens. Pete Domenici and Edward Kennedy, and Reps. Jim Ramstad and Patrick Kennedy.

This bipartisan bill would make great strides in ending the use of arbitrary, one-size-fits-all limits on mental health benefits, which are different from limits on other medical and surgical benefits. Passage of this legislation would make a real difference for patients, many of whom, seeking help for their mental disorders, now face higher co-payments and arbitrary limits on the number of days of care they may receive.

With a majority in both the House and Senate, and more than 250 national organizations, 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.

Please urge congressional leadership to prioritize passage of full mental health parity legislation before the end of this session of the Congress. I appreciate your consideration of my concerns, and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Background

Despite the broad support the Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act enjoys in Congress, momentum has slowed in both chambers. Senate and House committee chairmen have taken no action to move mental health parity legislation, but it is not too late for Congress to take up and pass the bill, thus the bill's lead sponsors and advocates continue to press for action.

In the Senate, the Wellstone Act, S. 486, introduced by Sens. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), has 67 cosponsors. The companion House bill, H.R. 953, introduced by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), has 243 cosponsors. More than 270 national organizations support the legislation (see list). With the broad support already in place, our national grassroots mobilization effort undertaken by NASW and its coalition partners can awaken leaders to the imperatives of passing this critical legislation to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Senator Wellstone’s death on October 24.

For more information, please contact Jim Finley, NASW Government Relations: jfinley@naswdc.org