[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 116 (Thursday, August 1, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9386-S9387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MENTAL HEALTH PARITY

  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, let me just say I am deeply troubled the 
conferees for the health insurance bill have apparently decided to not 
include any form of mental health parity on the final bill. In April, 
68 Senators voted aye on an amendment by Senators Domenici and 
Wellstone that would prohibit health plans from discriminating against 
people who have mental illness. This amendment was not a sense-of-the-
Senate proposal or some meaningless resolution. We do plenty of those 
in this place. They always come back to haunt us, but we do them all 
the time--sense-of-the-Senate this, sense-of-the-Senate that. That is 
not what this was. It was a real piece of legislation.
  It was real legislation that expressly prohibited health plans from 
imposing treatment limits and financial requirements on services for 
mental illness that are not also imposed with respect to physical 
ailments. It was deeply gratifying to me personally to see so many 
Senators cast a rollcall vote, clearly ``on the record,'' in bipartisan 
support of ending this terribly unfair discrimination.
  It is discrimination, that is what it is. We talk about that all day 
in here. If there is ever a more blatant form of discrimination, I do 
not know what it is. To think we still carry such a stigma in society 
of mental illness is dark ages stuff.
  So 3 months later, I am absolutely stunned that we are unable to gain 
support for the Domenici-Wellstone compromise which represents a very 
mere ``slice,''--a minuscule slice--of the original amendment that 
received 68 votes.
  All this compromise would require is that mental health ``parity'' be 
achieved with respect to annual payment limit caps and lifetime caps.
  I think it is rather curious that the conferees rejected this 
compromise, held tough for so long and, at the same time they accepted 
another compromise on medical savings accounts which received only 46 
votes on the Senate floor, and I am one of the 46 who voted for medical 
savings accounts.
  I am pleased we were able to work out an agreement on that aspect of 
the bill, but I certainly must question why the same spirit of 
cooperation was nowhere to be found when the issue of mental health was 
considered.
  I am especially troubled that some of the special interest groups--
boy, have they been sharpening their fangs in this session of the 
legislature; I have felt a little of it--have been so aggressive in 
lobbying against this compromise. To say that this small measure of 
parity is too costly is absolutely utterly absurd. As Senator Domenici 
pointed out, this entire bill is a mandate. To single out this one lone 
lonely mental health provision and label it as a costly mandate when 
the whole thing

[[Page S9387]]

is a mandate is a classic example of absurdity and discrimination. Yes 
I will use the term one more time.
  Sadly, that is what this debate is now all about. Discrimination is 
surely not something new to those who suffer from mental illness, I say 
to my colleagues. They have had it for a lifetime, and the stigma hangs 
and it is demeaning and it is wrong. It is not something we should 
accept without a good fight.
  I have deepest admiration and respect for my friend Senator 
Kassebaum. She too came here when I did. I would certainly hate to see 
her work product injured or disrupted, but I respectfully urge my 
colleagues to consider what we are doing, and I hope Senators Domenici 
and Wellstone will work toward some other result, and I will work with 
them in that objective.
  It is time to rid ourselves of this tragedy of stigma and 
discrimination. To see the business community do what they have done 
with regard to this issue deserves closer attention from all of us on 
this and other issues of the day where they apparently feel a great 
strength surging through their muscles and they do things they never 
did before. We will address that at some future time, too.
  I certainly respect those who have worked so hard to bring this about 
and will certainly give my full energies to seeing if we cannot get a 
better result. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. DOMENICI addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I thank Senator Simpson. I think he will 
join me in saying, as both of us talk to the business community about 
what they have done here, we want to acknowledge that some very good 
businesses in America already have decided to cover mental illness, and 
none of our remarks are directed at them. There are many self-insured 
and otherwise who are doing a good job of considering this 
discrimination.
  I thank him for his remarks.

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