Law & Politics
The Mental Health Parity Bill of 2007
Last month, the U.S. Senate approved what will be known as the Mental Health Parity Bill. This piece of legislation will require group health plans with mental health benefits to offer them at the same level as physical health benefits. The measure does not affect individual insurance plans but only group. This bill certainly destigmatizes mental illness by not allowing mental health to be treated differently by health insurers. Some highlights include having the same deductibles, copayments, number of visits, days of coverage, and annual or lifetime limits as physical illness. It also includes substance abuse treatment.
It has been a long time coming for mental health to gain equal footing for physical health. If you have ever suffered mental disease or know somebody who has, you know that mental disorders are not simple to treat and can require prolonged periods of expensive therapy. Psychiatrists and other mental health providers have been financially squeezed because their reimbursements do not account for the extent of treatment. Many providers have been forced to limit their patient visits to 15 minutes in order to be able to make their practices financially solvent.
As a consumer of health care, I think it is great to know that I can access mental health care should I ever need it. Hopefully, the final version of the Bill that hits Congress and President Bush’s desk will not be too different from its current version.
6 Comments/Trackbacks
parity fanatic for YEARS
Good news that it will be treated the same, and payment won’t be different. That will help so many families who struggle to make ends meet, and decide if they can afford treatment or not.
Nice observation, thanks.
truthman
I am an ex user of paxil ( seroxat in the UK) and i have good reason to believe that Paxil causes long term neurological damage ..
I do hope this new Bill will recognise the dangers of paxil and other spych drugs and the damage they can cause to people…
This drug is very dangerous..
I have set up a blog documenting the Paxil(Seroxat) scandal…
Please check out my blog..
http://truthman30.wordpress.com/
any comments or debate about Paxil would be appreciated , thanks.
Trackbacks
- Apr 16, 2007 | MENTAL HEALTH SOURCE PAGE » Blog Archive » Emotional Invalidation, Brands or Generics, Worrying, and More
- Apr 30, 2007 | carnival of eating disorders #5 » change therapy - isabella mori
Leave a Reply
Saturday, March 20, 2010
- Religion - A "Natural" Phenomenon?
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 1 - The Five Myths
- How Culture Shapes Our Mind and Brain
- Sex, Violence and The Male Warrior Hypothesis
- The Secret to Good Health – Listen to the Data
- If Herbal Medicine is Medicine, Shouldn't it be Treated as Such?
- Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neuroscience Conferences for 2010
- Too Much Information?
- "I Feel Your Pain" - The Neural Basis of Empathy
- Income Inequality and Health Outcomes
- The Evolution of Depression
- Journal Retracts Autism Research
- Speaking in Tongues - A Neural Snapshot
- Post-Partum Psychosis - Rare but Real
- Is Your Doctor Happy or Burnt-Out?
- Ginkgo Biloba Ineffective... Again
- Worried Well on the Web
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 2 - The Solutions
- Why Some Human Brains Become Leaders, While Others Followers?
- Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction
- Let the Matches Begin!
- My Nephew and his Brain, Part 4 – Their Life Today
- My Nephew and his Brain, Part 3 – Try to Work Out their Troubles
- My Nephew and his Brain, Part 2 – Revealed to be Complicated
- My Nephew and his Brain, Part 1 – Introduction
- Deep Brain Stimulation – A New Frontier in Psychiatry
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 3 – Equip Teachers with Prescription Pads?
- Why Some Human Brains Become Leaders, While Others Followers?
- Brain Blogger Finalist for Two 2010 Research Blogging Awards in Neuroscience and Psychology
- Tall Tales of Diabetic Amputations
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 2 – The Solutions
- Brain Blogging, Forty-Ninth Edition
- How Your Brain Groups Words
- The Child Brain and the Playing Teacher
- You Have a Right to Choose if we Agree
- Measuring Quality in Primary Care
- Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me A Match – The NRMP Main Residency Match
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 1 – The Five Myths
- When It Comes to Aging, Size Matters
- “I Feel Your Pain” – The Neural Basis of Empathy
- yea ur right lol lughter the best medicine i cnt do without it in a day!!!!!!!!!...
- Very touching story. My heart goes out to your family. Seizures are tough. And ...
- Thank you for sharing your nephew's story. So hard on those who love him, but I...
- Congratulations to all who've matched! Although the results of NRMP Main Residen...
- It's been almost 25 years since my son suffered a TBI in an accident. He was onl...
- I tend to agree with the teachers.But a teacher can only keep a record about the...
- Very interesting article, the 5th paragraph gets a little biased...but I still e...
- Dear Dan,There is certainly much clinical interest in this field. ClinicalTr...
- I recently commented on a sciencedaily.com article reporting success with TRD an...
- I have family members who are teachers. After sharing this article with them, th...
- It is great that people are challenging the use of this medication. As, a societ...
- I agree with the stand of the teachers and their children's that more than half ...
- I think that there’s also a social aspect to it. If you grow up in an area where...
- I have had epilepsy since I was 9 and am now 42. I have tried about every med. o...
- In this text is a serious error. Brain areas are found that contain religious ex...
- It's amazing how the brain works....
- Organ transplant for unavoidable patients have been around for quite some time a...
- Diet plays a major role in having diabetes. In today's world, people are finding...
- Interesting... I think that there's also a social aspect to it. If you grow up i...
- I think the article is actually describing a normal human being. Leadership tra...
Sponsored Links
Brain Fitness DVD, Home Care, Alcohol Rehab, Emergency Lighting, Online Criminal Justice Degrees, Tattoo, Diet and Health Supplements, Best vitamins supplements, Health Insurance, Electronic Accessory , Retractable Banner Stands , Biotechnology , Breast Cancer , Buy Bonefos , Lung Health , Lung Cancer Treatment , Dallas health insurance , Knee Pain Treatment , Affordable Health Insurance , Colon Cancer Treatment , Collin County personal injury attorney , How Dht Affects Normal Hair Growth , Edgepark Medical , Mattress , Hydroxycut, Astrology compatibility.
Neuroscience & Neurology
March 06, 2010 | 6 Comments | By Simi Agarwal, DDS
Why Some Human Brains Become Leaders, While Others Followers?
More In Neuroscience & Neurology
- How Your Brain Groups Words
- The Child Brain and the Playing Teacher
- “I Feel Your Pain” – The Neural Basis of Empathy
- Speaking in Tongues – A Neural Snapshot
- Neuro Case 1 – Using Transcranial Doppler for Basilar Artery Occlusion
Neuroscience & Neurology
Opinion
February 01, 2010 | 1 Comment | By Jennifer Gibson, PharmD
Crossing the Line from Physician to Journalist
More In Opinion
- Sex, Violence and The Male Warrior Hypothesis
- Bruxism and the Brain
- Religion – A “Natural” Phenomenon?
- Natural Good, Chemical Bad – Right?
- Time for a Change – Gender Reassignment
Opinion
Psychiatry & Psychology
March 12, 2010 | 3 Comments | By Shaheen E Lakhan, MS, MEd, PhD, MD
Deep Brain Stimulation – A New Frontier in Psychiatry
More In Psychiatry & Psychology
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 2 – The Solutions
- Psychotropics and Youth, Part 1 – The Five Myths
- Journal Retracts Autism Research
- White Bears – The Paradox of Mental Suppression
- Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice?


The Senate Bill (S558) is not as broad as the House version (HR1367)
The House version follows the Federal Employees Health plan which covers ALL mental illness diagnoses. Over 8.5 million Federal employees & their dependents have had this BROAD definition coverage since 2001 by executive order of Democratic President- Clinton.
The Senate version would allow the group plan to LIMIT the mental illness diagnoses covered; this makes the parity more limited!
Both bills would require Self-insured plans to comply with this requirement.
These bills are not mandates. If a plan would decide to not cover mental illness at all, it could.
The definition our representatives have SHOULD be what we private sector turkeys deserve.