NAMI Calls On
President Clinton To Require Mental Health Insurance Parity From
Federal ContractorsLargest Advocacy Group On Mental
Illness Looks To White House Conference To Provide "National
Baseline" For Progress; CHAMPUS And Medicare Also Cited
Contact: Mary Rappaport
703-312-7886 Bob Carolla (703) 516-7963 |
|
For Immediate Release 4 Jun
99 |
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has called on
President Clinton to take executive action to require private
contractors doing business with the federal government to guarantee
equal coverage of mental illnesses in health insurance plans they
provide their own employees.
The action follows the Administration's announcement that mental
health parity will be required under the Federal Employees Health
Benefits Plan (FEHBP) and occurs as the White House Conference on
Mental Health prepares to convene on June 7th.
In a June 2nd letter to the President, NAMI Executive Director
Laurie Flynn wrote: "Because the FEHBP serves as a model for much of
the healthcare industry, the initiative represents an important step
forward in seeking to establish parity for all private health
insurance plans. It also offers an opportunity to consider
additional expansions of parity through other programs administered
by the federal government."
Specifically, NAMI has asked that the Administration's expansion
of FEHBP coverage include the Civilian Health & Medical Program
of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), which serves military families
and retirees, and "all private contractors who do business with the
federal government."
NAMI also has asked the President to include provisions to cover
mental illnesses "consistent with the standards of the FEHBP
initiative" in Administration legislation still being developed to
strengthen Medicare.
Calling mental health parity "no less than a civil rights issue
which deserves to be advanced on all possible fronts, through all
possible government action," Flynn---who with other NAMI leaders
will attend the White House conference----expressed hope that the
event ultimately will help lead to Congressional action "to enact
full parity for severe mental illnesses in private health insurance"
as well as define "a national baseline of measures that can be
achieved immediately in order to build a foundation for greater
progress in the 21st Century." Since 1991, a growing, national
bipartisan movement has resulted in 23 states passing private sector
parity laws---about half of which have been signed by Republican
governors, including George Bush (TX), James Gilmore (VA) and
Christine Todd Whitman (NJ).
June 2, 1999 The President The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to
helping persons with severe mental illnesses, the National Alliance
for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) applauded the announcement last week
that you intend to require health insurance coverage for mental
illnesses for federal employees and their families.
Because the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)
serves as a model for much of the rest of the healthcare industry,
the initiative represents an important step forward in seeking to
establish parity for all private health insurance plans. It also
offers an opportunity to consider additional expansions of parity
through other programs directly administered by the federal
government.
First, we ask that you include the Civilian Health & Medical
Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) in the expansion of
coverage you are initiating with the FEHBP. Second, we ask that as
the Administration develops legislation to protect Medicare for
future generations, provisions be included to cover mental illnesses
consistent with the standards of the FEHBP initiative.
Parity is about more than insurance coverage. It also represents
an end to discrimination against persons who struggle with
biological brain disorders through no fault of their own. NAMI
therefore view parity as no less than a civil rights issue which
deserves to be advanced on all possible fronts, through all possible
government actions. We hope that the upcoming White House Conference
on Mental Health will lead to Congressional action to enact full
parity for severe mental illnesses in private health insurance, but
separately, we ask that you extend the parity requirements
established for the FEHBP program to all private contractors who do
business with the federal government. Federal contractors should be
required to certify coverage of mental illnesses as part of the
health insurance plans that they provide their employees. Executive
action of this nature would represent an important, further step
forward.
NAMI looks to the White House Conference on Mental Health to
define a common, national baseline of measures that can be achieved
immediately, in order to build a foundation for greater progress in
the 21st Century. We hope you will consider our request in that same
spirit and light. We appreciate the steps you already have taken
toward this goal.
Sincerely,
Laurie Flynn Executive Director
Now you may join the NAMI E-News
Alert Listing and have all of the latest mental health
updates delivered to your email account.
|
NAMI is..., Support, Education, Advocacy, Research
NAMI Store, Print This Article, Tell-A-Friend, Search
Join NAMI, Give to NAMI, What's
New?, Press Room, Home
Copyright © 1996-2001 NAMI - All Rights Reserved
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Colonial
Place Three, 2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-524-7600; NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI
[6264] User
Agreement
|