Eliminate Stigma - Parity is just one more step

This email was sent out this weekend to many of my NAMI members and friends. Parity is a major issue for better medical treatment, better recovery plans, early detection and the elimination of stigma and discrimination. I thought I would share this with you, the readers as well.
The need for Parity Laws only demonstrates that discrimination is alive and well in this country. What do you do to eliminate any type of discrimination in your world? Are the organizations you belong to biracial? Is the neighborhood you live in multi-cultural? Being culturally diverse means more than eating at an ethnic restaurant. Just some ideas to ponder. Please read on.



Date: June 18, 2008
From: Marilyn Richmond, J.D., Assistant Executive Director
for Government Relations
American Psychological Association Practice
Organization

I am pleased to announce that the Senate and House have reached an
historic agreement on the terms for a final full mental health parity bill. The compromise is expected to move quickly through both chambers.
From the time that the House passed its version of the parity bill, H.R.1424, in early March (the Senate passed its version, S. 558, last September), the two chambers have been engaged in intense negotiationsto reconcile differences between the two bills. The APA Practice Organization has been deeply involved in these negotiations, along with other key stakeholders from the mental health, insurer, and employer communities, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), BlueCross BlueShield Association, and Aetna.

The final gap between the Senate and House bills was closed as
negotiations led to agreement over three key outstanding issues-
* Preemption. The House accepted the stronger Senate language, which
defers to the current HIPAA standard. This standard is extremely
protective of state law, ensuring that stronger state parity and other consumer laws will remain in place.
* Out-of-Network Services. The Senate accepted the stronger House
language that makes clear that out-of-network mental and substance use disorder services will be provided at parity when a plan provides out-of-network physical health services.
* Covered Services. The House agreed to drop mandated coverage for all DSM diagnoses but ensured that all mental health conditions and
substance use disorders would be covered by mirroring the standard for mental health under the current federal parity law.

Together, we have worked for the better part of a decade to end mental health and substance use benefits discrimination. This tremendous breakthrough would not have been possible without the tireless perseverance and dedication of psychologists across the country who have advocated year after year on behalf of their patients. When enacted the new federal parity law will-

* Completely end insurance discrimination against mental health and
substance use disorder benefits for over 113 million Americans,
requiring full parity coverage with physical health benefits.
* Extend to all aspects of plan coverage, including day/visit limits, dollar limits, coinsurance, copayments, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
* Preserve strong state parity and consumer protection laws while
extending parity protection to 82 million more people who cannot be
protected by state laws.
* Ensure parity coverage for both in-network and out-of-network
services.

We will get back to you with further details on the bill and the process
ahead soon.

This is a great happening!!!