Update: On Thursday, October 2, the Senate passed the bipartisan mental health parity compromise (The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008) in the financial bailout and tax extenders package, (HR 1424) by a 74 to 25 vote. Attention now turns to the House where action on this package is expected tomorrow (Friday, October 3). We are almost at the finish line but advocacy is urgently needed for Friday's vote.
Contact your Representative by calling the toll free Parity Hotline at 1866-parity4 (1866-727-4894) and urge him/her to send mental health and addiction parity to the President's desk now!
Please call your Representative now!
Message: "I'm calling to ask that the representative urge the
congressional leadership to pass mental health and addiction parity legislation
this week before Congress adjourns."
Use the toll-free Parity Hotline: 1-866-parity4 (1-866-727-4894). The Parity
Hotline reaches the U.S. Capitol switchboard, which can connect callers to the
offices of their members.
Why: Congress is scheduled to adjourn within the week but much important
work
remains. Because the parity agreement passed both houses in separate
legislative vehicles on September 23, Senate and House leaders need to agree
on
a final package. As Congress considers other critical issues like the Wall
Street financial crisis, we must keep up the pressure to sent parity it to the
President for signature.
Your Senators and Representatives need to hear from constituents NOW to send
mental health parity to the President's desk.
There's no need to get into the procedural detail of the separate legislative
vehicles on which parity is moving. The discussion in Congress at this stage is
over larger issues about the extent to which other proposals to which parity
may be attached are paid for, to comply with the Budget Act's "pay-go" rules.
Alternative Action: Email your Representative and Senators by personalizing
this sample letter (use the form on the member's web page, available through
http://www.thomas.gov, and remember to include your postal address with zip
code and your phone number with local area code):
I am writing to urge you to ensure that the Senate and House finally send the
historic agreement on mental health parity to the President's desk before
adjourning for the year.
On September 23, both chambers passed the parity agreement in separate
legislative packages. Now is the time for Congress to finally close the
loopholes in the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which prohibited
discriminatory annual and lifetime dollar limits on mental health benefits.
The new legislation will extend parity protections for mental health and
substance use disorder benefits to all aspects of plan coverage, including
day/visit limits, dollar limits, coinsurance, co-payments, deductibles and
out-of-pocket maximums. When enacted, these protections will make a real
difference for patients who can't afford to wait any longer.
Please urge Senate and House leaders to finish their work now on this critical
health care legislation and send it to the President. Thank you for your time
and consideration.
How the House and Senate voted, so you can thank your lawmakers:
The House vote of 376 to 47 passing H.R. 6983, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici
Mental
Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008.is posted at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll625.xml
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