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WASHINGTON March 6, 2007 - Two
bills have been introduced in Congress in an effort to provide access to care
for people with mental health conditions such as eating disorders. The bills
promote mental health parity, in which some insurance policies would be required
to cover treatment for eating disorders equal to the coverage offered for
medical conditions. The Senate bill and the House bill vary, but the Eating
Disorders Coalition supports BOTH.
The original 1996 mental health
parity bill must be reauthorized by Congress. Compared to the new U.S. Senate
version of the bill (S 558), the new House version of the bill (HR 1424) is more responsive
to the needs of people seeking treatment for an eating disorder. Each new
version of the bill is a significant improvement over the current law.
Take Action!
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Click the links above to see if
your elected officials support mental health parity. Call or write your U.S.
Representative and your two U.S. Senators. If they are sponsors of the bill,
thank them. If they are not, ask them to become sponsors and to work for the
passage of mental health parity. You can call their district offices or their
offices at the Capitol.
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S.
Senate
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Visit
www.equitycampaign.org. Become a citizen co-sponsor by signing up.
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If
there's a public forum for mental health parity in your area, go and show your
support.
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Add a link to
www.equitycampaign.org to your e-mails and Web sites.
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