Family & Friends
Action Council

September 18, 2007

ACTION ALERT:

Help Pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health
and Addiction Equity Act (H.R. 1424) NOW!

CALL TOLL-FREE TODAY from 9am–6pm Eastern
Call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at 877.978.9996

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

There are important new developments in our efforts to take the first step to end insurance discrimination faced by people with eating disorders.

Help us end practices like higher co-pays and deductibles, restrictive day and visit limits and lower and annual lifetime caps on people seeking mental illness and addiction treatment and recovery services! Take action today!

The House Ways and Means Committee's Health Subcommittee will be considering or “marking-up” H.R. 1424 tomorrow, September 19th. After this mark-up, the only remaining hurdle before the House can vote on the bill is for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to act. TIME IS RUNNING OUT IN CONGRESS TO PASS HR 1424!

CALL TOLL-FREE TODAY from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Eastern

Call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at 877.978.9996*

Our Message:

“Please schedule a vote on H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, by mid-October. The time has come for mental illness and addiction to be treated the same as other illnesses. Thank you for your help in making this long overdue action a reality.”

* When you dial 877.978.9996 an operator will be standing by to assist you.

Thanks for all of your advocacy that has helped continue to build momentum for passage of The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act this year!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

WHY PARITY MATTERS

Many insurance companies are reluctant to pay for treatment when the diagnosis is an eating disorder. State-by-state, people who have insurance spend endless hours negotiating with company representatives for treatment that is often limited to 30 days of care, which may not be enough to treat the underlying causes of the eating disorder. Also, many insurance policies require that a separate deductible be paid for mental health treatment.

The goal of state and national parity laws is to create equality between medical and mental health care and coverage. A strong national parity law would supercede weaker state laws, creating a "floor" for coverage. While most Americans support mental health parity, traditional opponents include business groups such as retailers, realtors, manufacturers, and some insurance companies.

Detailed information from the Library of Congress:
Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2007 (HR 1424).

(Photo: The Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Nancy Pelosi, joined members of Congress in recognizing EDC President Kitty Westin for her work in support of mental health parity. Left to right, Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Congressman Jim Ramstad, Kitty Westin, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.)

EDC Applauds Congressional Budget Office Report on H.R. 1424;
New Report Finds Surprising Low Cost for Adding Full Mental Health Parity

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the cost of the proposed mental health parity bill, H.R. 1424, would increase health insurance premiums by about 0.4 percent. The CBO report indicates that health plans and employers would offset more than half of that cost by reducing the scope of benefits they cover or by increasing deductibles and co-payments widely across benefits.

"The Congressional Budget Office cost estimate on HR 1424 reinforces our position that enacting mental health parity would result in a minimal cost of less than .2 percent," Kennedy said in an e-mail. "However, the estimate does not take into consideration the potential savings from increased work productivity, reduced disability claims, fewer emergency room visits and overall improved health for Americans."

Read the CBO report (pdf).

Do you care about these issues? Support the EDC.

We focus on Washington, D.C., and national policies on eating disorders. We work with Congress, the federal government, the media, and others. From our office across the street from the U.S. Capitol complex, we call attention to the Americans struggling and dying from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and eating disorders not otherwise specified.

Your donation will make a difference. No amount is too small or too large. Click the button below to donate online.

Or, mail a check payable to Eating Disorders Coalition, to the address below.

Eating Disorders Coalition
611 Pennsylvania Avenue SE #423
Washington, DC 20003-4303  USA