Over one million more children and families will now have
the mental health coverage they deserve. Today, Congress took a significant
step towards realizing the promise of mental health as essential health by
passing legislation that will empower over a million more people to access
mental health and substance use care by preventing state and local government
plans from discriminating against public employees who seek that care. The
legislation passed the Senate today and is expected to pass the House of
Representatives tomorrow. The Kennedy Forum championed this important
bipartisan action as part of its mission to transform the way mental health and
substance use disorders are treated in this country.
Prior to the passage of this provision in the year-end
omnibus legislation, estimates suggest over one million public workers and
their family members were enrolled in 229 plans nationwide that had chosen to
"opt-out" of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
(MHPAEA). MHPAEA requires insurers to cover illnesses of the brain, such as
depression or addiction, no more restrictively than illnesses of the body, such
as diabetes or cancer.
"As a former public servant who benefited from mental
health and addiction treatment, I believe no public servant should be subject
to discrimination that denies that treatment. Thankfully, we are finally seeing
brain health as part of overall health," said Patrick J. Kennedy, founder
of The Kennedy Forum and co-lead author of MHPAEA.
Read our full press release on this parity victory here.
