Mental Health Insurance Parity

Federal legislation requiring health insurance companies to cover mental illnesses at the same rate as physical illnesses is close to becoming law. The House and Senate have both passed parity bills, and the two houses are working together to draft a version that President Bush will sign, but they must do so by the end of July for parity to become law in 2009. California has had a mental health parity law since 2000. How is it working? How similar or different will federal legislation be? Will it address the pitfalls of California's law? Recently, public radio aired a discussion between advocates and industry representatives including Margot Rosenbach (author of a federally-funded study on the impact of California's mental health parity law), Rusty Selix (Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of California), David Wellstone (co-chair of Wellstone Action), Andrew Sperling (Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness), and Kelly Vogel (Vice President of Federal Affairs for America's Health Insurance Plans.)

Listen to the May 22nd discussion that aired on Larry Mantle’s “Air Talk” on KPCC 89.3.