APA Statement On Mental Health Parity Legislation

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 30 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The American Psychiatric Association issued this statement in support of mental health parity legislation passed by Congress:

"The American Psychiatric Association hails action by both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives yesterday that would put coverage of mental health treatment on an equal footing with treatments for other health conditions. This compromise legislation helps end discriminatory and unequal coverage of treatment for mental health care by most health insurance plans.

"While the parity legislative language approved by the House and Senate is identical, lawmakers now need to decide whether the parity legislation will be adopted as a standalone bill or as part of a larger legislative package. We urge Congress to act swiftly to resolve this technical issue so that this landmark legislation can be signed by the president and become law this year."

The American Psychiatric Association is the nation's leading medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.HealthyMinds.org.

American Psychiatric Association

• Additional
• References
• Citations