Wellstone legacy: Mental Health Parity Law

Desperate to pass the $700 billion "rescue" of financial markets, Congress tacked it on to a mental health parity bill that had languished since first championed by Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone 12 years ago.

The Paul Wellstone-Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was added to the financial rescue package to win support after the House rejected the bailout legislation earlier in the week. After the bill's passage by the House of Representatives, the bill was quickly signed in to law on Friday. The law requires health insurers to provide benefits, co-payments and treatments for mental health services and substance abuse disorders equal to traditional medical coverage. It gives one pause to think how the late progressive two-term senator from Minnesota would have felt knowing that the financial bailout may not have passed without riding along on his coattails. Wellstone Action, a progressive organization founded after Wellstone's death, released the following statement today:

Honoring Senator Paul Wellstone, Congress Passes Mental Health and Addiction Parity Legislation

After nearly twelve years of hard work marked by strong advocacy, setbacks, compromises, and progress, today Congress passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 - comprehensive mental health and addiction parity legislation in honor of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. The bill was included in financial bailout package passed by the Senate on Monday and the House today. It now moves to the President's desk.

Earlier this Congress, the House and Senate each passed its own version of the bill and worked hard to successfully reach a compromise final bill. The bill was championed by chief sponsors in the House, Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN) and Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), and in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). In an election year crowded with issues and politics, these leaders, along with Sen. Wellstone's son, David Wellstone, kept the bill at the top of the national agenda and worked with Congressional leaders to get the bill passed before they adjourned for the year.

"This bill is a major achievement, one I know my dad would be proud of," said David Wellstone. "This bill will go a long way to ease the pain and suffering of those with mental illness and addiction, and I am proud to have been part of this effort. It's a great day." David Wellstone is the co-founder of Wellstone Action, an organization that has been mobilizing support for the bill.

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 is a major step forward to end discrimination in insurance coverage for people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders. The legislation states that insurance plans may not place arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on mental health and addiction coverage as compared to medical/surgical coverage. Millions of individuals and families have been affected by the inability to access equal coverage for mental health and addiction care.

The late Senator Paul Wellstone championed this issue during his time in the Senate, passing the 1996 groundbreaking parity law. He firmly believed that equal access to care was at its core a matter of fairness and justice and he never stopped fighting to improve the law. Passage of this legislation will save countless lives, and is a fitting tribute to Wellstone's legacy."

In her statement, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi attempted to relate the two pieces of legislation:

"Today, the House acted in a bipartisan way to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act with the aim of addressing the challenges felt by Americans on Main Street. Among those many challenges is the fact that almost every American family has to grapple with mental illness at some point. By including the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in this essential legislation, we are requiring that illness in the brain be treated just like illness anywhere else in the body for insurance purposes."