[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 24074-24075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH PARITY

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to call attention to an 
issue that affects every community in this country, and that is mental 
illness. Next week is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and I think the 
best way that we in the Senate can recognize this event is to ensure 
parity for mental health treatment in our Nation's health care system.
  Mental illness has a drastic impact not only on the country's health, 
but also on its economic well-being. According to the 1999 Surgeon 
General's

[[Page 24075]]

report on mental illness, the unequal coverage of mental illness 
treatment results in direct business costs of at least $70 million per 
year, mostly due to lost productivity and increased use of sick leave. 
Earlier this year, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental 
Health released a report laying forth goals and objectives to transform 
mental health care in the United States. According to this report, 
mental illness ranks first among illnesses that cause disability in 
this country, and the indirect costs of mental illness are estimated to 
be $79 billion a year. This report goes on to reaffirm the President's 
call for Federal legislation to provide full parity between coverage 
for mental health care and for nonmental health care.
  Over the past two decades we have made great strides in the area of 
mental illness. Not only are a number of innovative, beneficial 
treatments available for sufferers of mental illness, but we have also 
worked to eradicate many of the social stigmas that have too often 
accompanied mental illness. However we still have much to do for those 
who suffer from potentially debilitating and destructive mental 
illnesses.
  Currently, those with mental illness often struggle to obtain 
necessary medical treatment, even when they have sufficient health 
insurance. Employers who offer health benefits to their employees can 
impose limitations on the treatment of mental illness, while not 
placing similar limitations on the treatment of physical illness. This 
discrimination prevents many from obtaining the medical treatment they 
need.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to answer the President's call, 
and recognize Mental Illness Awareness Week by ensuring that those 
suffering from mental illness have access to medical treatments that 
will help them to preserve the quality of their lives.

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