[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 43 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E390-E391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PAUL WELLSTONE MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION EQUITY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, the time has come to enact the Paul 
Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. We need to end 
discrimination against those with mental illness and substance use 
disorders, just as we have worked to end discrimination more broadly. I 
regret that I could not be here to vote on its passage out of the 
House.
  If you cannot be moved by a sense of compassion to support this 
important legislation, then maybe you can be moved by the statistics. 
More than 57.7 million Americans suffer from mental disorders. That's 
one in five Americans--people in our families, our friends, and 
coworkers. Mental disorders and addictions affect us all--regardless of 
race, gender or socioeconomic status. H.R. 1424 ensures that health 
insurers and group health plans treat mental disorders and addiction no 
differently than any other disease.
  This is not a mandate. The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction 
Equity Act simply says that if plans choose to offer mental health 
coverage, then that coverage must not be subject to different standards 
than the coverage for treatments of physical disease. Parity will 
ensure that treatment for mental disorders and addictions will be no 
more restrictive than treatment limits applied to comparable medical 
and surgical benefits.
  Opponents of true parity claim that H.R. 1424 could result in 
decreased access to employer provided health insurance. That is merely 
a scare tactic designed to undermine the broad-based support for the 
bill. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that 
the impact on premiums is just two-tenths of one percent. Statistics 
show us that depressed workers lose 5.6 hours a week of productive work 
time. This translates into tens of billions of dollars annually in lost 
productivity for employers.
  We also know that every dollar spent in treatment saves up to $12 in 
health care and criminal justice costs alone. Do the math, and you'll 
see that treating mental health and addiction disorders is a wise 
investment. No one in this day and age should lose years of their lives 
in the fog of mental illness and addiction when help is available. We 
would never think of denying diabetes patients insulin. Yet, it seems 
to be acceptable to erect financial barriers or take other steps that 
ultimately deny patients with physical and chemical imbalances 
treatment for their mental illness. That

[[Page E391]]

is wrong, and this legislation would end these discriminatory 
practices. I look forward to negotiating a strong compromise with our 
Senate colleagues.

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