Current federal law now allows insurers to discriminate by setting higher co-payments or stricter limits on mental health benefits. Advocates of the bill say the measure would help end the stigma of mental illness and would be beneficial to cater needs of people needing mental health and addiction treatment.
However, opponents of the bill warned it could lead to excessive health care costs and force some employers to drop insurance coverage. The House vote sets the stage for talks with the Senate, which passed a narrower version of the bill last September with support from business and insurance groups.
The White House said it favors the Senate bill because it addresses the need to treat mental illnesses with the same urgency as physical illnesses but wouldn't significantly drive up health care costs.
Though President Bush favored the principle of mental health parity in 2002, the White House on Wednesday opposed the House bill, saying it "would effectively mandate coverage of a broad range of diseases."
Typical annual limits include 30 visits to a doctor or 30 days of hospital care for treatment of a mental disorder. However, these limits would no longer be valid if the insurer had no limits on treatment of conditions like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
The "Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007" is named for Senator Paul Wellstone, the Minnesota Democrat killed in a plane crash in 2002. He had a brother with severe mental illness. The bill is also strongly advocated by Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico. Domenic's daughter is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
If an insurer chooses to provide mental health coverage under the bill, it must "include benefits" for any mental health condition. The conditions are listed in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association
The House bill covers people who need treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, as well as mental illness. Other conditions listed, which are strongly opposed by critics, are caffeine intoxication and sleep disorders resulting from jet lag.
