The House of Representatives on March 5 overwhelmingly passed HR 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, by a vote of 268-148.
The measure permanently reauthorizes and expands the current mental health parity law, enacted in 1996. It requires group health plans and group health insurers to establish parity between coverage for mental illnesses and substance abuse treatment and for medical and surgical benefits.
Specifically, the bill, which was approved by the Ways and Means Committee in September, requires health plans to cover out-of-network services for mental health and substance abuse if they cover out-of-network services for medical and surgical benefits. The House bill also ensures that plans cover mental illness and substance abuse diagnoses that have been established by the medical community. The Senate passed its own bill last September, so now the two chambers will need to negotiate a unified bill. Get more information on the bill.
