[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 38 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PAUL WELLSTONE MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION EQUITY ACT OF 2007

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                               speech of

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2008

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant 
opposition to H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction 
Equity Act. To be clear, I support mental health parity and I commend 
my colleagues for coming together to ensure Americans can receive the 
care that is necessary; however, I have serious concerns about 
extraneous provisions that were added to the bill at the last minute.
  This legislation, while seeking to increase access to mental health 
treatment, simultaneously raises the cost of doing business for 
companies who choose to provide low cost medication to the Medicaid 
program. In addition, the bill stifles the growth of certain specialty 
hospitals in an effort to bring more business to public hospitals. In a 
time when we should be encouraging the expansion of all types of 
medical care, we should not be punishing one part of the industry in 
order to pay for the expansion of another.
  Providing access to quality mental health care is an important goal. 
Yet, I believe this goal can be achieved without harming unrelated 
aspects of the medical field, which is why I oppose H.R. 1424 and I 
support S. 558. If the House had brought up S. 558, which does include 
any of these problematic provisions, we could well be on our way to 
expanding mental health parity. I encourage the House to move forward 
with the Senate version so we can send this bill to the President as 
soon as possible.

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