Wellstone, Ramstad Mental Health Parity Efforts May Soon Bear Fruit

The mental health parity bill being pushed by U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, D-Minn., cleared a key House panel Wednesday. By a 10-3 vote, the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee approved a bill that would require group health plans to provide mental health and substance abuse coverage to the same extent as physical illnesses.

The bill cleared the Senate earlier this week; expectations are that it will be taken up by the House before the current session ends. The House bill’s sponsors are Rhode Island Democrat Patrick Kennedy and Minnesota Republican Jim Ramstad.

Currently, many plans that include mental health coverage provisions offer a lower level of coverage than for other health problems. For instance, plans may require higher co-pays and deductibles, lower limits for the numbers of inpatient or outpatient visits allowed or annual and lifetime caps on the amount of coverage. The proposed mental health bill would require those who offer mental health coverage to provide the same level of benefits for mental health coverage as for physical health.The Senate version of the bill also mandates out-of-network mental health coverage, while the House bill does not. If the House passes the bill, its version will need to be reconciled with the Senate’s.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that one in five American families are affected by mental illness, and that passing the parity bill would have significant impact in Minnesota. Minnesota NAMI executive director Sue Abderholden explained that although Minnesota already has a mental health parity law, “Over half of Minnesotans with coverage are covered under self-insured plans.” The significance of that, Abderholden explained, is that self-insurers are not required to provide mental health coverage, and that the federal plan would close that loophole.

Although the parity bill has had many supporters over the years, two of its most ardent proponents have been Ramstad and the late senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota; the House version is named “The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.”

Most members of the Minnesota congressional delegation have voiced their support for the parity bill. Republican Rep. John Kline is said to favor the Senate version; Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s position is unclear. Neither returned calls seeking comment.

Ramstad, a recovering alcoholic who has announced he will not run for re-election, spoke of the parity bill as his legacy: “Before I leave Congress, I expect the mental health and addiction treatment parity bill will become law. This landmark bill to provide greater access to treatment is the legacy I want to leave to millions of Americans suffering from mental illness and addiction; a legacy of access to treatment and recovery; a legacy of hope for a healthy and sober life.”

Abderholden agreed that the bill’s passage would be Ramstad’s “crowning moment,” and referred to him as a “great friend of the mental health community.”

Ramstad and Abderholden also had kind words for Paul Wellstone and his efforts.

“I will always cherish my work with Paul to provide greater access to treatment for people with mental illness and chemical addiction,” Ramstad said. “Paul would call me frequently to breathlessly relay his progress in securing another co-sponsor or to share counsel.  I came to absolutely treasure those late-night phone calls.”

Abderholden said that if Congress passes the mental health parity bill, “I can just see Paul Wellstone smiling and saying, ‘It’s about time.’”