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The Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act is gaining momentum in Congress this year.
The bill, introduced by Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Representative Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) last year, had about 32 cosponsors as of last month and more are expected to sign on, according to Ellen Gerrity, Wellstone's legislative assistant for mental health issues.
The bill's passage is critical because the Mental Health Parity Act, which passed Congress in 1996 and is now law, does not address parity for substance abuse disorders, according to Gerrity.
"It is time for the federal government to enact legislation to provide for full parity for both substance abuse and mental health treatment," testified Wellstone at a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on addictions and recovery last month.
The bill would prohibit group health plans from imposing annual or lifetime limits, copayments, deductibles, or visit limits for substance abuse rehabilitation unless similar requirements exist for other medical and surgical benefits, according to Wellstone's testimony.
It also exempts employers with less than 50 employees and those who incur a premium increase of at least 1 percent.
Wellstone testified, "insurance companies discriminate against individuals suffering from the disease of substance abuse by setting up barriers to care. As a result, many individuals do not get treatment, and then the individual, family members, friends, coworkers, employers, and all of us suffer the consequences."
The Senator emphasized that full parity for substance abuse treatment would increase insurance premiums only 0.2 percent compared to 3.4 percent for mental health treatment, according to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Parity in cost-sharing for substance abuse treatment would increase premiums about 0.1 percent and parity in service limits about 0.03 percent.
Wellstone also testified that legislative support for parity for substance abuse and mental health treatment is growing at the federal and state levels.
A case in point is the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 1998 introduced in the House last month.
Wellstone concluded in his testimony, "The important thing to remember is that substance abuse treatment is about fairness. To fail to provide treatment for those suffering from this disease is costly and leads to broken families, broken lives, and broken dreams. This hearing today is an important step to making sure we change the attitudes and practices in our society that lead to this discrimination."