[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PARITY IN MENTAL HEALTH COVERAGE

  (Mr. KENNEDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you, Speaker 
Pelosi, for bringing to the floor of this House a piece of sweeping 
health care legislation, the likes of which we haven't seen in over 60 
years since the Congress passed the Medicare legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank you because it's about time the 
American people had an opportunity to have health care for all, 
irrespective of preexisting conditions.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank you on behalf of the millions of 
Americans who suffer from mental illness because health insurance 
companies do not acknowledge that the brain is part of the body, that 
there is such a thing as alcoholism and addiction in this country.
  Madam Speaker, thanks to your leadership, we passed the Paul 
Wellstone-Pete Domenici Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act last 
session, and thanks to your leadership with this legislation, there is 
no discrimination against those with mental illness. And in each and 
every one of the health care plans, there is absolute parity in health 
care coverage for those with mental illness.
  Thank you, Madam Speaker, for this historic legislation.

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