January 3, 2001Release No. 01-01
Michael Strazzella202/682-6039[email protected]
APA Lauds Roukema For Mental Health Legislation
Washington, D.C. - The American Psychiatric Association today praised Congresswoman Marge Roukema (R-NJ) for introducing legislation, The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 2001, that requires health insurance companies to end discriminatory coverage of treatment for mental illness and substance abuse disorders.
"Congresswoman Roukema's introduction of the bill on the first day of the 107th Congress underscores her outstanding personal commitment to providing full parity for mental health benefits," said APA president Daniel B. Borenstein, M.D. The bill is identical to legislation Roukema introduced in 1999, and it is more comprehensive than the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which expires in September.
The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 2001, which already has more than 25 cosponsors, would bar unequal limits on annual and lifetime spending levels for mental health care and substance abuse, limits on the frequency of treatments, number of visits, co-pays, deductibles, out-of-network charges, and out-of-pocket contributions.
"The time has come to end insurance industry practices that discriminate against mental illness and substance abuse disorders," Borenstein says. "APA looks forward to working with Congresswoman Roukema, a champion on mental health issues, to ensure that psychiatric patients receive all the treatment they need."
The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 amended the Employment Retirement and Income Security Act and the Public Health Service Act to require that employer-sponsored health plans have annual and lifetime dollar limits for mental health coverage that are no more restrictive than those for all medical and surgical coverage.
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society, founded in 1844, whose 40,000 physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
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