Victory! Mental Health Parity Bill Adopted

By Victoria Woodbury, NOW Public Policy Intern

October 14, 2008

NOW salutes the passage of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which became part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424) that was signed into law this month. This act will increase access to treatment and protect individuals with mental illnesses and chemical addictions from discrimination by health insurers.

The Wellstone/Domenici act requires that insurers provide coverage for mental illness and chemical addiction treatment that is comparable to that which they provide for physical illnesses. The passage of this act is important for women as patients because it addresses the need to treat mental illnesses with the same urgency as physical illnesses, establishes equality across the terms of plans that offer mental health benefits, and will help end the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse that prevents many people from seeking treatment. It also provides an avenue for support and hope for the partners and families of individuals with mental health challenges and chemical addictions.

There is still work to be done, however, as the new act only applies to insurers and group health plans that already provide mental health benefits, and completely exempts businesses with 50 or fewer employees and those that (by enacting these benefits) would experience an overall premium increase of 2 percent or more in the first year and 1 percent in subsequent years. Considering the skyrocketing cost of mental health care, there may be many employers exempted by the latter provision.