"Waiting for Mental Health Parity," Op-Ed, The Washington Post (April 12, 2012)
On April 12, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by former senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Gordon Smith (D-OR) urging the Obama Administration to issue final regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. The article points out that regulatory action has stalled since 2010. The article further quotes the following statistics in support of more effective mental health parity enforcement:
"The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health, published last year, found that fewer than half of the 45.9 million adults with a mental illness receive treatment or counseling and that only 10 percent of the more than 23 million people who need help for a substance-use problem received any specialized treatment in 2010. Even more troubling is the fact that people with either disease have shorter life expectancies than most Americans; a 2006 study put the difference at 25 years."
APsaA members who are interested should contact their congressional representatives and ask them to encourage HHS to issue the final parity rules.
February 11, 2011 – Mental Health in Schools Act
September 28, 2010 – Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act |