Finally, Mental Health Insurance Parity
October 10, 2008 - Posted in health
Last week, Capitol Hill lawmakers achieved two things they are not known for, efficiency and consensus of support on an issue. The mental health parity bill we have been talking about was included in the $700 billion Wall Street bailout legislation.
The mental health parity bill had unanimous support, surprisingly, in the House of Representatives, Senate and White House. The new law is now in effect and means that more than one third of Americans with health insurance will have better coverage for mental health conditions. This came from the New York Times.
The Times article states an estimates 113 million people will receive better mental health coverage. The new and improved coverage starts January 1, 2010 for most plans.
Health insurance companies and employers initially opposed this legislation. US Senators Pete Domenici, Edward Kennedy, Michael Enzi, the bill’s creators, are credited for bringing all the parties at interest to the negotiating table.
These Senators introduced the bill that is now law. One trade group vice president involved in the negotiation says, “It was an incredible process. We built the bill piece by piece from the ground up. It’s a good harbinger for future efforts on health care reform.
