[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3197]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         PAUL WELLSTONE MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION EQUITY ACT

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my support for the Paul 
Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.
  At the heart of this bill is the fact that there exists an 
unreasonable difference in the way society treats mental health 
conditions as opposed to all other health conditions. There are quite a 
few health professionals in Congress, and to all of us there is no 
distinction in the necessity of treating heart disease, bone disease, 
or mental health disease. They are all equally vital to our body's 
functioning, and that is our goal in this act.
  We must finally put an end to the discrimination being practiced by 
insurers and others when they offer health coverage for some health 
conditions and not others. It's not fair to say we'll cover some parts 
of your health care, but we'll pick and choose which parts of your body 
to cover. That's bad for business. I know it's bad for health care.
  I commend Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad for their tireless work on 
this bill and seeing its coming to the floor. I encourage all of my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this excellent legislation.

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