[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]


[[Page E326]]
     PAUL WELLSTONE MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION EQUITY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2008

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Paul 
Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007.
  Eleven years ago, the Congress came together to approve legislation 
that put the country on the road to mental health parity. But along 
that road, too many potholes remain unfilled. A letter I received last 
week from a Michigan psychologist reads, ``Every day I see families 
with `good health coverage' discover that their loved ones cannot get 
the mental health care they need because their employer-sponsored 
health insurance sets arbitrary, one-size-fits-all limits on mental 
health treatment that it does not impose on other medical or surgical 
benefits.''
  When the National Institute for Mental Health reports that 1 in 4 
adults have a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year, and 1 in 
every 17 Americans suffers from a more serious mental condition, we 
know that it is time to take action. Whether it's a friend with signs 
of clinical depression, a son or daughter with a drug addiction or a 
parent with schizophrenia, too many people are not receiving the 
treatment that they need. In fact, a study conducted by the NIMH found 
that only 18 percent of Americans requiring mental health services 
received minimally adequate care.
  We are all too familiar with the burden that inadequate access to 
mental health care can cause. People experiencing severe mental 
illnesses routinely exceed the number of allowable visits to a health 
care provider, leading to financial hardship or insufficient levels of 
care. Under the current system, a person seeking mental health services 
may have to wait months to get an appointment with a practitioner in 
his or her insurance plan's network, or have to pay a fortune out-of-
pocket for mental health care.
  The legislation before us ensures that Americans will have access to 
the mental health care they need by removing these barriers. 
Specifically, the bill requires health insurance companies that offer 
mental health benefits to offer them in a way that beneficiaries pay no 
more out of pocket than they would pay for physical and surgical health 
benefits. The bill also requires insurance companies that cover mental 
health benefits to cover the entire spectrum of them so that treatment 
for conditions like substance abuse and eating disorders will be 
covered.
  All of us should join in supporting this important legislation to 
continue moving America along the road to parity, and the eventual 
elimination of discrimination, financial hardship and insufficient 
levels of care in our health care system.

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