ACTION ALERT

TO:	All APA Members
FROM:	Jay B. Cutler, Director of Government Relations
RE:	Parity Legislation

The House and Senate introduced parity legislation introduced parity legislation, as detailed in my alert from March 2, 1999. Representatives Marge Roukema (R-NJ), Bob Wise (D-WV), and Pete DeFazio (D-OR) have introduced H.R. 1515, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Act of 1999. Their bill proposes to extend full parity to those who are covered by mental health or substance abuse plans. Full parity would prohibit different copayments, deductibles, and visit and treatment limits for mental health or substance abuse services than what is provided for any other medical illness.

Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) have introduced S. 796, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 1999. Their bill provides parity for inpatient and outpatient visit limits for those who are covered by mental health plans. Furthermore, it extends full parity for specific mental illnesses listed in the bill, which includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive compulsive and severe panic disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, autism, and other severe and disabling mental disorders such as anorexia nervosa and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

We need your letters to your Senators and Representative to show the groundswell of support for parity, in whatever form it may come. Suggested letters follow - please feel free to personalize. If you want to learn more, a fact sheet on parity may be downloaded from this website: click under "Public Policy Advocacy" on the website’s left margin and scroll down to "Current Issue Brief - Parity."

Please take a moment to send a letter now. As always, please contact the Division of Government Relations at (202) 682-6060 if you have any questions. Thank you for your help in this fight.

Honorable First Name Last Name
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Last Name:

As your constituent and psychiatric physician, I am writing to ask you to cosponsor H.R. 1515, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Act of 1999, sponsored by Representatives Marge Roukema, Bob Wise, and Pete DeFazio.

H.R. 1515 would prohibit insurance plans from having different copayments, deductibles, and visit and treatment limits for mental health or substance abuse services than what is provided by the plan for any other medical illness. The bill does not, however, require plans to offer mental health or substance abuse coverage.

Let us end discrimination that results from outdated misconceptions and the stigma surrounding mental illnesses. The financial and human costs of untreated mental illness deserve your cosponsorship of H.R. 1515.

If you are not a cosponsor of the bill, please help me understand why you would permit such discrimination against people with mental illnesses or addiction disorders to continue.

Sincerely,
Your Name, MD

Honorable First Name Last Name
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Last Name:

As your constituent and psychiatric physician, I am writing to ask you to cosponsor S. 796, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 1999, sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici and Paul Wellstone.

S. 796 provides parity for inpatient and outpatient visit limits in comparison to limits an insurance plan may impose on other medical illnesses. For specific severe mental illnesses (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive compulsive and severe panic disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, autism, and other severe and disabling mental disorders such as anorexia nervosa and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), there is full parity. The bill does not, however, require plans to offer mental health coverage.

Let us end discrimination that results from outdated misconceptions and the stigma surrounding mental illnesses. The financial and human costs of untreated mental illness deserve your cosponsorship of S. 796.

If you are not a cosponsor of the bill, please help me understand why you would permit such discrimination against people with mental illnesses to continue.

Sincerely,
Your Name, MD

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