Congress has moved one step closer to passing legislation that would require companies that offer mental health coverage to offer benefits, co-payments and treatment limits equal to those for traditional healthcare coverage.
Such coverage has been 10 years in the making in Congress, lawmakers said.
The Senate approved a larger tax extender bill (HR. 6049) Tuesday that includes mental health parity measures. The measures match a similar bill passed by the House in March.
Lawmakers are calling for the bills to be made law before year's end. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said the White House indicated it would sign the law, including the mental health parity measures.
Senators Domenici, Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), all sponsors of the Senate version of the bill, praised its broad bipartisan support.
Domenici said the provisions represent "a much-anticipated update" to the Mental Health Parity Act he sponsored in 1996. The new legislation is expected to improve mental healthcare coverage for an estimated 113 million Americans, he said.
"We are on the cusp of enacting legislation that is critically important to those with mental illness and their families," he said. "We have a finite amount of time to get this through Congress and we are anxious to see get it done."
Kennedy called mental health parity a civil rights issue. "It is wrong to rob people of their potential and deny their hopes and dreams because their insurance will not pay for the mental health care they need," he said.
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, said the legislation "will give peace of mind to patients and preserve their access to the innovative programs and flexible benefit options that health insurance plans have developed to promote high-quality, evidence-based behavioral healthcare."