National Social Worker Call in Day on Mental Health Parity

NASW Needs 2000 Social Workers to Make Calls

DATE: Thursday, June 6, 2002 (ALL DAY)

ACTION: CALL 1-866-PARITY4 AND URGE YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO SUPPORT H.R. 4066-THE MENTAL HEALTH EQUITABLE TREATMENT ACT!

REASON: In the United States, Social Workers oversee 40% of the mental heath cases. We need to have a clear voice on Capitol Hill on the importance of mental health parity legislation. NASW wants to show its support for this issue by having AT LEAST 2000 social workers call in to support mental health parity legislation.

SAMPLE SCRIPT:

Hello. May I speak to the staffer that handles mental health issues, please?

I'm calling as a constituent and a member of the National Association of Social Workers to express my support for mental health parity.

If the Representative is on the attached list

Thank you for your support of mental health parity and cosponsorship of H.R. 4066, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act.

If the Representative is NOT on the attached list

I would like to strongly encourage Congressman/Congresswoman (Name) to please to cosponsor H.R. 4066, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reaffirmed in a memo dated May 22, 2002 that H.R. 4066 does not require health plans to cover mental health services that are not "medically necessary". In addition, CBO also stated that cost increases due to mental health parity are estimated to be roughly 0.9%-- less than 1%!

Thank you for listening and I and other social workers in Congressman/Congresswoman (Name) District hope that we can count of his/her support of H.R. 4066.

DON’T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.

Let us have a unified voice on June 6th!

ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH PARITY INFORMATION

ISSUE

President Bush expressed his support for the broad concept of mental health parity on April 29, 2002; however, the President has not voiced support for any of the existing Bills on the subject. Please be assured that NASW is continuing to monitor this rapidly changing issue and will continue to post information as soon as it becomes available.

The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (MHPA) expired on September 30, 2001. Although Congress passed a temporary extension until December 31, 2002, the issue must be revisited before the end of the 107th Congress.

NASW strongly supports the enactment of full mental health parity and continues its advocacy to that end.

BACKGROUND

On January 3, 2001 Representative Marge Roukema (R-NJ) introduced similar legislation, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Amendments of 2001, H.R. 162.

On March 15, 2001 Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) introduced the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001, S. 543.

Both S. 543 and H.R 162 would expand on the 1996 Act by providing full parity for all categories of mental health conditions listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). H.R. 162 is broader than S. 543, as it would include coverage for substance abuse disorders. Health insurance plans would be forbidden from applying different deductibles, co-payments, out-of-network charges, inpatient day and outpatient visit limits for mental health care from those for medical and surgical health care, if mental health benefits are offered. Like the 1996 Act, neither S. 543 nor H.R. 162 would mandate that plans offer mental health benefits if they currently do not.

Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees would be exempted, and the 1 percent compliance cost increase opt-out would be eliminated.

On March 20, 2002 Representatives Roukema (R-NJ) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) introduced H.R. 4066, the House companion to S. 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2002.

Although H.R. 4066 is more limited in scope than Representative Roukema's prior parity bill, H.R. 162, it provides a uniform platform from which Congressional debate can be launched. H.R. 4066 is generally identical to the amended version of S. 543, which was unanimously approved by the Senate as the Domenici-Wellstone Amendment on October 30, 2001 and was dropped out of out the conference agreement by House Republicans on December 18, 2001.