CAPITOL HILL UPDATE

2008 Annual Conference Hill Day Leads to Legislative Gains

Mental Health America's 2008 Annual Conference provided a key opportunity for federal advocacy and we've already seen good results.

On June 5, MHA affiliates visited nearly 100 congressional offices and pressed for such goals as a strong federal parity law, an end to discriminatory Medicare co-payments and a moratorium on harmful Medicaid regulations. In just a few weeks, we've seen action on each.

Parity

Senate and House negotiators, working since March to bridge differences between their parity bills, recently reached a compromise, moving us a long way forward. The compromise would improve current law by requiring parity on both treatment limitations and financial requirements; provide that if a plan offers out-of-network medical or surgical benefits, it must also offer out-of-network mental health and addiction benefits at parity; and preserve stronger state parity and consumer protection laws.

Though enactment of a strong parity law this year may still involve further deliberations, conference attendees heard from parity champions Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., who received Mental Health America’s Career Achievement Award and brought a resounding “pass-parity” message to the Hill. Mental Health America also honored Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, with a Legislator of the Year Award for winning House passage of legislation to improve veterans’ mental health treatment through peeroutreach and support.

MEDICAID and MedicaRE

Uncertainty over the fate of Medicaid regulations restricting coverage of rehabilitative, case management and school-based services was broken by eleventh hour congressional-White House negotiations that produced agreement on a funding bill that would extend until next year an earlier moratorium barring these Medicaid cuts. Congress passed the bill and the president signed it shortly thereafter.

And as Congress moves to complete a Medicare bill (aimed largely at averting imminent cuts to Medicare physician reimbursements), House and Senate committee chairmen are pushing hard to include in that legislation a phase-out of the discriminatory 50% Medicare co-pay on outpatient mental health treatment.

Other Advocacy Opportunities

You can also help us advance the goals of the Conference’s Inaugural Promotion and Prevention Summit by urging your Representative to co-sponsor House Resolution 1217, which calls for making prevention of mental disorders and substance abuse among young people and promotion of their mental health and wellness a public health priority. This resolution, introduced by Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., at Mental Health America’s request, calls attention to promising research that points the way to success in preventing behavioral health disorders among youth. It also highlights that well researched prevention and health promotion programs are poorly disseminated and seldom implemented. Together we can help change that by getting a large number of representatives to cosponsor the H. Res. 1217 and propel the House of Representatives to adopt it.

Become part of the movement by joining Mental Health America’s Advocacy Network at http://takeaction.mentalhealthamerica. net and watch for future alerts to see how you can make a difference in federal advocacy.