Mental Health Parity Coalition Seeks Senate Action
April 13, 2004
The Issue at Hand
The time for passing parity is now! Despite a bipartisan record of 69 cosponsors in the Senate and 245 in the House of Representatives, Congress has failed to move on the “Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act” ( S. 486 / H.R. 953 ). In fact, two years have gone by since President Bush expressed support for full mental health parity legislation. During this time more than 360 organizations have joined our coalition to pass parity and end insurance discrimination against those suffering from mental disorders.
The broad coalition supporting mental health parity is turning up the pressure and unifying grassroots support to help the bill's sponsors, Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), get the Senate moving on parity. All Senate leaders need to know their continued inaction on passing S. 486 delays relief to millions of Americans who continue to suffer because of the lack of comprehensive mental health parity.
Action Needed
Option 1: Call the toll-free Parity Hotline, 1-866-PARITY4 (1-866-727-4894), to contact your senators to urge immediate Senate passage of mental health parity legislation. The Parity Hotline reaches the Capitol switchboard, which can connect callers to their members of Congress.
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 e-mail addresses are linked through NASW's Congress Web: www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp
Targets : All members of the Senate.
Special Targets : Senate : Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Chairman of the HELP Committee.
Phone Message : [ask for — and make the following points with — your Senators' Health Legislative Assistant]:
- “I am calling to urge the Senator to make passage of mental health parity legislation [S. 486] a top priority for early Senate action.”
- “Every day, families with ‘good health coverage' discover that loved ones who have mental illnesses can't get needed care because their insurance sets strict limits on mental health treatment. This bill will end that discrimination.”
- “Restrictive employer-provided health insurance practices — which apply only to mental disorders — cause illnesses to go untreated and worsen. Tragically, this often leads to unemployment, homelessness, and even suicide. Untreated mental illness also costs our nation about $80 billion per year.”
- “Mental health parity legislation is a fair and affordable solution that will save lives and families. Congress must pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act.”
Sample Senate Letter : (Also available online on NASW's Congress Web: www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp )
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington , DC 20515
Dear Senator (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), sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici and Edward 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 360 national organizations, supporting full mental health parity, it is obvious that this much-needed legislation is long overdue. President Bush echoed this sentiment in April 2002 when he urged Congress to pass parity legislation.
Please urge the Senate leadership to prioritize immediate floor passage of full mental health parity legislation. 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 Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), has 69 cosponsors. The companion House bill, H.R. 9 53 , introduced by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), has 245 cosponsors. More than 360 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.
For more information, please contact Jim Finley, NASW Government Relations: jfinley@naswdc.org |
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