10.30.01

Cantwell Praises Senate Passage of Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act

WASHINGTON, DC - The United States Senate today passed the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act, a bill cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and 62 other senators, which reduces discrimination on the basis of mental illness and requires health plans and insurance companies that cover mental illness to treat those conditions the same as they do other illnesses.

"Making mental health services easily accessible to people whose health insurance cover them is not only fair, it's essential," Cantwell said. "Like other illnesses, mental illness affects millions of Americans of all ages. Getting help for a mental illness should be no more difficult than getting treatment for the flu."

According to the Surgeon General, Cantwell said, one in five American children and teenagers experience the symptoms of a mental illness each year, and one in ten children suffers from 'extreme functional impairment.' The National Institutes of Mental Health estimate that 22 percent of Americans 18 and older have diagnosable mental disorder, and 19 million American adults suffer from a depressive disorder.

Cantwell said the legislation passed by the Senate prevents health plans from imposing unfair financial or access limitations on mental health services. The bill does not require any group health plan or employer to cover the treatment of mental illness. Rather, it requires health plans that choose to cover mental illness to do so fairly. In short, the bill requires insurers to establish annual and aggregate lifetime limits for mental health coverage that are no more restrictive than for other health coverage. However, it does not require that mental health benefits be offered as part of a health insurance package, does not require a minimum number of inpatient days or outpatient visits, and does not require parity in co-payments or deductibles for mental health services.

"Passage of this bill ensures that Americans whose health plans cover mental illnesses will be treated fairly by employers and insurance companies when they seek medical care for their illnesses," Cantwell said.