This week, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) said the House can work with a compromise proposal on mental health parity legislation (S. 558, H.R. 1424) recently offered by two key senators, describing the proposal as a "huge sign" from the Senate that it is serious about Congress passing parity legislation this year.

Kennedy, a chief architect of the House parity bill, has been working with Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Pete Domenici (R-NM) on the compromise.  Kennedy has yet to comment on the details of the proposal. 

Both the House and Senate bills would require health plans offering mental health coverage to provide the same benefits for mental illness as they do for other medical conditions. Employers with fewer than 50 workers would be exempt under the bills.  The employer community has significant concerns with the House bill since it requires employers to cover a broader array of mental illnesses than the measure in the Senate.

A busy election season means a shortened timeframe for legislative work, so it is unclear whether lawmakers will be able to hammer out a final compromise and schedule floor debate and votes on the bill.

For additional information, please contact Alicia Oman (ao@wafed.com or 202-898-1444) in the NADCA Washington Office.