|
|
From November 2001 NASW NEWS Since Sept. 11, "Congress is different, the budget is different, the stakes are different." There has been a sea change in Congress, a fundamental shift in attitude and priorities after September's terrorist attacks, and one of NASW's legislative initiatives has fallen victim for this year to the new political climate. "Congress is different. The budget is different. The stakes are different," said NASW Senior Government Relations Associate Francesca Fierro O'Reilly. "It's not that NASW's priorities were lost in the shuffle. It's that, right now, there is no shuffle." O'Reilly said at press time that all activity, especially efforts to gear up for a heated, partisan debate over budget priorities and spending levels, had ground to a halt in Congress. In its place came the sobering realization that there is very, very little money to fight over, because much of it will be spent on disaster relief efforts. "There are two priorities now," O'Reilly said, "disaster and defense." That didn't leave much room for legislation NASW had been advocating, an expansion of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. Congress took no action, and the statute expired on Sept. 30. The 1996 law did not require employers to offer mental health care benefits if they chose not to, but stipulated that if the benefits were provided, they must be equal to those for medical and surgical care. NASW has been backing S. 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001, and H.R. 162, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 2001, both of which would provide full parity for all categories of mental health conditions listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The Senate bill, however, does not cover substance abuse treatment, while the House bill does. Sens. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) sponsored S. 543, with 64 other cosponsors. Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) sponsored H.R. 162, with 163 other cosponsors. Under both bills, health insurance plans would be forbidden from applying different deductibles, co-payments, out-of-network charges, and inpatient day and outpatient visit limits for mental health care than those for medical and surgical health care, if mental health benefits were offered. The expiration of the 1996 law could mean that when insurance companies rewrite their plans for the next year, they could discontinue matching benefits for mental health services if they chose to do so. "We're going to have to wait and see what the lawyers say," O'Reilly said. "It's a shame this happened, especially now that, in the wake of the terrorist attacks, more people are going to be seeking out mental health care now and in the months and years to come." She added, "I am hopeful, though, that Congress will move to rectify this untenable situation before it recesses in late October or early November." Back to NASW NEWS Contents
|
 |
