Expressing the sense of Congress that an appropriate month should be recognized as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month to enhance public awareness of mental illness, especially within minority communities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Andrews.

Mr. Speaker, it will be a landmark day when we realize that health is not just about fixing broken bones. It's about having a healthy, complete individual from head to toe.

Today the House takes an important step to require mental health parity in insurance, and I particularly want to thank and recognize Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, and the late Paul and Sheila Wellstone.

Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans suffer from mental illness of some form. Few Americans are untouched and no one is immune.

Some of my colleagues have expressed their concern about the cost of providing mental health parity; yet an analysis of the bill indicates that it would result in an increase of less than 1 percent in premiums and would reduce out-of-pocket costs by about 18 percent. Further, according to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, employers who actively encourage their employees to use mental health services actually experience better health outcomes and, I want to emphasize this, increases in hours worked and productivity gained.

I include in the Record an editorial from the Journal of the American Medical Association from last September of 2007 dealing with the treatment of depression.

Reducing the Burden of Depression--Building Villages for Coordinated

Care

(Kenneth B. Wells and Jeanne Miranda)

In this issue of JAMA, Wang et al provide evidence that

implementing depression care programs through employer-

sponsored managed behavioral health can improve clinical

outcomes, job retention, and effective hours worked compared

with usual care. The programs encouraged depressed workers to

learn about and use evidence-based depression treatments,

supported clinicians in following practice guidelines, and

offered telephone counseling and self-help workbooks. The

monetary value of the increased work time under the program

exceeded the direct intervention costs and likely exceeded or

was within the range of cost increases due to greater mental

health specialty use under the intervention. While formal

estimates of cost-effectiveness and employer return on

investment are pending, it appears to be in the business

interests of many employers to implement such programs to

protect their investments in the retention and productivity

of workers they have hired and trained.

These findings should be evaluated within the context of

the simple but startling facts about depression. Clinical

depressive disorders are among the most prevalent of major

medical conditions, affecting about 16% of adults in their

lifetime. Owing to high prevalence, early age at onset

(unlike other debilitating disorders that occur past the age

of parenting and work responsibilities), and strong impact on

functional status, depressive disorders are leading

contributors to disability worldwide. Depressive disorders

are highly treatable yet often remain unrecognized and

untreated. While a number of effective programs promote

higher use of treatments in service delivery settings,

particularly primary care practices, these programs are not

yet widely implemented. Thus, technology is available to

treat this disabling condition, but US health care systems

have failed to take full advantage of the technology to

reduce personal or societal consequences of depression.

The intervention approach in the study by Wang et al can be

characterized as ``building a village'' of health plans,

clinicians, and resources that ``surround'' depressed persons

with opportunities to learn about and engage in evidence-

based care, attending to a careful fit of intervention

requirements and context-specific implementation options.

This approach has generally proven effective in primary care,

and the substantial outreach efforts mirror those in the WE

Care study demonstrating that depression treatments are

effective for low-income and minority women. In the study by

Wang et al telephone managers from the behavioral health

company offered counseling and communicated recommendations

to clinicians, an extension of their usual role. In the

Partners in Care study, primary care nurses expanded their

disease management skills to include assessment, education,

and follow-up concerning depression. In both studies,

patients and clinicians were free to use or not use study

resources according to their preferences. Such interventions

have the advantage of preserving the naturalistic context of

the delivery systems, potentially facilitating the

translation of findings into change by example. Interventions

in both studies achieved roughly similar outcomes: a 10

percentage-point gain in use of appropriate treatment and in

recovery from depression over a year, as well as roughly 2

more weeks of days worked in a year in the study by Wang et

al and a month more of days worked over 2 years in Partners

in Care.

Depression interventions have many advantages for

individuals, their family and friends, employers and society,

over and above relief of individual symptoms. As mothers'

depression improves following care, for example, their

children also enjoy improvements in mental health. The study

by Wang et al demonstrates that treatment of depression

increases productivity and may reduce economic losses due to

depression for employees and employers. If such gains exceed

costs of providing the interventions and treatments, there is

``money on the table'' across stakeholders that could be used

to pay for interventions. Why then do many individuals with

depression endure their illness without care?

One barrier to care is that depression affects motivation

and cognition, making it difficult for many individuals with

depression to realize they have a need and obtain care

without the outreach provided by nurse/care managers. Family

members also may fail to identify depression or have

knowledge about appropriate care. This suggests that

opportunities to improve access to depression care should be

embedded within an infrastructure available to potentially

depressed persons, such as primary care settings. However, an

awareness of the effects of treatment on social costs such as

productivity may not provide a strong incentive for

clinicians and health plans to improve care, as they do not

necessarily face immediate financial consequences from

patients' changes in productivity or may not track this

outcome. Yet most private health care in the United States is

financed through employer-sponsored insurance. Direct

contributions to the bottom line of employers offers them an

incentive to promote depression care, independent of policy

mandates or other motives such as responding to employee

demand.

Other stakeholders, including policy makers and the public,

may benefit from improved depression care through an

increased tax base from employees who work more or an overall

improved economy. Yet it is challenging in the US policy

environment to use economic gains from one policy sector such

as the labor market as leverage to support improved health

care, However some policy changes could be implemented to

better align the incentives to implement depression care

programs across diverse stakeholders and to avoid undermining

the goals of such programs, for example by excluding

depression treatment from health insurance coverage when

changing jobs or insurance based on a recent history of

depression treatment in an employer-based depression program.

Under such an ill-advised policy, the risk of losing coverage

would serve as a major deterrent to seeking care.

The need to coordinate program implementation and policy

suggests an expanded concept of ``a village,'' that includes

not only wrap-around interventions but coordinated efforts

across affected stakeholders. It may be trite that the

stakeholder with the most power to influence services

delivery for most Americans is the employer, but broader and

deeper change in access to depression care may yet require a

concerted effort among affected parties to yield prograns

that address public and self-stigma and to provide access to

depression treatments under policies that

facilitate use of such programs and do not penalize

individuals for using them. Studies such as that by Wang et

al strongly support such integrated solutions.

Exactly how programs to improve depression care are

implemented may affect the distribution of benefits--an

important issue given evidence of disparities in quality of

depression care and the potential for practice-based programs

to overcome disparities in depression outcomes. Developers of

interventions and policies should consider implications of

their design for inclusion of underserved groups who may not

seek behavioral health care. Despite the extensive efforts by

Wang et al to reach general employees, the majority of

persons had already inquired about outpatient care. Learning

how to optimize personal and societal gains by improving

access to quality depression care across diverse communities

through employer, practice, and community-based programs and

policy changes is a next agenda for evidence-based action. As

a community participant in the Witness for Wellness program

recently stated: ``Depression is everybody's business.''

Now, ultimately, despite the economic arguments in favor of parity, it is not a debate about dollars and cents but about lives saved and people restored. Let's work to ensure that those who need access to mental health will get it.

Mr. Speaker, it will be a landmark day when we realize that health is not just about fixing broken bones. It's about having a healthy, complete individual from head to toe. Millions of Americans suffer from mental illness of some form, conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Mental illnesses strain families and can contribute to lost productivity, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, or suicide. Few Americans are untouched by it. No one is immune.

Prompt and comprehensive treatment can reduce enormously these effects, but insurance companies--including government plans like Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)--frequently impose limits on coverage for mental health that are not imposed on traditional medical and surgical care. Already this year, Congress has worked to address these inequalities in the federal health programs.

Today, the House of Representatives is taking a significant step toward finally ending the insurance discrimination that has existed for decades against people with mental illness.

Representative Patrick Kennedy and Representative Jim Ramstad deserve credit for their strong leadership on the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, H.R. 1424, which I am proud to cosponsor along with more than 270 of my colleagues. This much needed legislation would require insurance companies to provide benefits for mental health and substance abuse treatment equal to those provided for physical medical treatment.

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act would require that all Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV, illnesses be covered, rather than letting insurance companies determine their own scope of coverage. This is the same coverage requirements that we as Members of Congress receive under our federal employee health plan, and our constituents deserve no less coverage.

The American Psychological Association, which publishes DSM-IV, reports that lack of insurance coverage (87 percent) and cost (81 percent) are the leading factors for individuals not seeking mental health services. The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act would solve both of these problems.

Additionally, unlike the bill working through the Senate, H.R. 1424 would not preempt state law. This is very important for the residents of my home state of New Jersey and others who already have mental health parity laws on the books. For good reason these states worry that they might be forced to reduce their coverage requirements.

We know that mental illness is treatable, yet because one third of the people affected do not receive needed treatments, mental illness remains a leading cause of disability and premature death. According to the World Health Organization, the costs related to untreated mental illness are $147 billion each year in the United States. Those who oppose the legislation thinking it is too expensive should note this cost.

Yet, an analysis of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act indicates it would result in an increase of less than one percent premiums and would reduce out-of-pocket costs by 18 percent. Further, a recent article in the Journal of American Medical Association, JAMA, indicates that employers who actively encourage their employees to use mental health services actually experienced an increase in hours worked and productivity gains.

Ultimately, despite the economic arguments in favor of parity, it is not a debate about dollars and cents, but about lives saved and people restored. I recently received a letter from a constituent who is a corporate human resource director. She did not write me in that capacity, however. Instead, she wrote me ``as the sister of a beloved brother who committed suicide one day after his in-patient mental health care benefit `ran-out'.'' She understood and related to me not only the human resources concerns, but also and especially, the true cost of mental health and the failure to enact mental health parity. Let's work to ensure that those who need access to mental health care, get it.

Mr. Speaker, today is an historic day. Along with others, I have labored for a very long time to produce a comprehensive mental health parity bill. Without a doubt, our actions today will benefit real people in real ways. Many times we come to the floor to debate and vote on legislation that many Americans may wonder what is the relevance or the purpose? No one who has suffered a mental illness or has watched a family member suffer a mental illness will ask what is the relevance?

As a doctor and psychiatrist, I want to emphasize to my colleagues that this bill will make a genuine difference in the lives of the American people we serve. I know the suffering of mental illness. Not only do many patients still face the stigma of mental illness, but they also face discrimination in coverage.

Most Americans would be outraged if they heard that health plans charged higher co-payments for cancer treatments or limited hospitals stays for those with heart diseases or denied care for diabetes. We would all be outraged. But, that is what we allow for mental illness.

We have heard a great deal about the costs of requiring mental health parity. What we hear very little about is the cost of not providing mental health parity. Many untreated mental illnesses can metastasize into serious physical and costly illnesses. Untreated depressions can result in heart disease. An untreated eating disorder can result in kidney failure. Yet, had we treated the mental illness we could have saved millions of dollars in costly care.

The issue of increasing costs of insurance is simply and categorically false. We know from the FEHBP experience that mental health parity has not resulted in significant costs. In fact, CBO has reported that H.R. 1424 would increase premiums by just two tenths of one percent. I would argue the longer term savings would offset any increase in premiums and that we will see a savings.

Access to mental health is simply access to quality primary care. It's key to preventing disease and improving outcomes. It simply makes no sense to treat the brain differently than the kidney or lungs or heart.

We have also heard a great deal about the use of the DSM-IV and scope of coverage. The use of DSM-IV is a tool for diagnosing mental illness and ensures that doctors, not insurance companies, define a mental illness. Some of my colleagues have argued that the use of DSM-IV will mean that plans must cover jet lag. These are not DSM diagnoses and refer to V Codes and not developed for the DSM.

My colleagues also argue that the use of the DSM-IV will prohibit plans from medical management. Again, my colleagues are wrong. As a practitioner, let me assure you that diagnosing and treating illness are very different things. Treatments can and will still be subject to medical necessity, like any other illness.

I think it is important for me to correct the record. Many of the speakers who addressed the House today are not health care professionals and have little understanding of mental illness. Yet, they claim to be experts on diagnosing and treating mental illness.

Finally, let me say a few words about the physician ownership offset. Just a couple of weeks ago, the administration sent to the Congress the Medicare 45 percent trigger recommendations. We have heard over and over again that Medicare spending is not sustainable and we need radical reforms. Yet, when we offer a small reform measure that will save more than $2 billion over 10 years, and protect patients from unnecessary care, some Members come to the floor to oppose. In fact, they argue that this physician ownership issue reduces choice or access. Who chooses to spend $2 billion more?

I understand that there may be some clinics that are providing quality care and we need to work to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries are not denied access. But, let's remember what we are doing. This is about closing a loophole to limit physician ownership of medical facilities to reduce over utilization and protect full service community hospitals. Many of these physician owned facilities do not staff an emergency department or an ICU. This is about protecting the integrity of the Medicare program. This is about controlling Medicare spending.

I strongly support H.R. 1424. Let's end this inhumane practice of discriminating against those with a mental illness. Let's make sure that when families pay premiums for health insurance coverage that they have the right to medically necessary coverage.

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of long overdue legislation that would equalize care for the millions of Americans suffering from mental health and substance-related disorders. More than 10 years after passing the Mental Health Parity Act, Congress now has the chance to finish the job it began and ensure that no Americans face discrimination in insurance coverage of mental health care.

Patients throughout the country struggle with the enormous financial costs of mental health and substance abuse treatments not covered by insurance. Many go without treatment, creating a burden on families, communities, and even our economy. Over 1.3 billion work days are lost annually due to mental disorders, more than stroke, heart attack, and cancer combined. In addition, employers face $135 billion in lost productivity each year due to untreated alcoholism and $31 billion due to untreated depression.

Enacting H.R. 1424 is important not only as a way to remove barriers to mental health and substance abuse care, however, but also as a way to remove the stigma long associated with these disorders. Equalizing care would send a strong message that the 57 million Americans suffering from mental health disorders and 26 million from chemical addiction should be treated no differently than individuals suffering from other medical conditions. I applaud the leadership and work of Representatives Kennedy and Ramstad for their tireless efforts to bring this important legislation forward, and I am proud to give them my strong support.

In moving forward, it is my hope that the House and Senate can work together to find common ground so that mental health parity can be enacted. as part of this process, I would encourage negotiators to review the offsets used to pay for H.R. 1424, particularly the increase in the base Medicaid drug rebate level. I encourage Congress to consider the

effect this increase would have on small businesses that provide drugs and biologics to the Medicaid program, as well as possible disincentives this increase could create for companies to innovate and develop important new medicines. Although I am not opposed to raising the base rebate amount on principle, I am concerned that it may not be a prudent step to take without a thoughtful and complete review of its possible impacts.

Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.

All Americans deserve access to affordable, comprehensive health care--to meet both their physical and mental needs. I believe that Americans should be provided comprehensive coverage for mental health services. Mental illness and substance abuse are real and treatable health problems--just like hypertension, cancer and heart disease; yet millions of hardworking men and women still find that their health plans place strict limits on coverage for mental health benefits.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 1424. This bill will finally provide for equity in coverage of mental health and substance- related disorders.

We know all too well the inequities that currently exist for those seeking mental health care and substance-related care. They are subjected to higher co-payments, higher deductibles, and more restrictive treatment limits.

I have heard hundreds of heart-wrenching stories from my constituents in Wisconsin about the effects that these inequities have had on their families.

One woman's story was especially poignant about the inequities of the current system. In the same year, both her husband and her daughter required major medical care because of life-threatening conditions. One had a disease of the kidneys, and one suffered from severe clinical depression. Both patients required emergency visits and extended treatment. Both patients were compliant and followed their doctor's treatment instructions. Both patients were covered under the same family policy.

But the insurance paid for twice as much of the costs associated with the kidney disease than they did for the severe depression, because depression is a mental illness.

And while her husband underwent multiple treatments for his kidney disease, her daughter was told after a few psychiatric visits that her insurance would not pay anything toward further visits because she had used up her allotted number of visits for the year.

These higher patient costs and treatment limits are unconscionable. I am delighted that H.R. 1424 will require equity in financial commitments and equity in treatment limits for mental health and substance-related disorders as compared to medical and surgical benefits. In addition, it will prohibit discrimination by diagnosis and provide Americans with the same mental health coverage that Members of Congress have.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1424. Today we are attempting to enact legislation that achieves ``parity'' in the treatment of employer-sponsored coverage for mental and behavioral illnesses. However, although the House bill is well-intentioned, it does not accomplish the goal of providing parity. Instead, it creates new mandates so onerous that they could do far more harm than good, potentially squeezing employers out of the voluntary health care system altogether or eliminating the very mental health benefits we are trying to provide.

First, this bill would give preferential treatment in our health care system to mental health benefits, affording mental illness a special status that is not given to other similarly severe medical illnesses.

For example, under the House bill we are considering today, virtually every mental illness defined by the mental health profession would be required to be covered by private plans. This, despite the fact that most States currently do not mandate this type of coverage. Also, H.R. 1424 does not place a similar requirement on private health plans to cover other types of medical benefits, including hospital services, physician services, drug benefits, or any other category of benefits. What this bill really accomplishes is not ``parity'' between mental health coverage and the medical and surgical benefits that are offered by plans; it is quite simply preferential treatment for mental health benefits over and above all other categories of medical benefits. The changes that have been made to the floor version of H.R. 1424 fail to address these serious concerns.

Second, we have heard the bill's supporters say that this is a balanced bill. Respectfully, it is not. The bill fails to adequately and explicitly protect the ability of private plans to apply commonsense medical management practices currently being used to help ensure the delivery of high-quality medical care and ensure that coverage for working men and women remains affordable.

Under this bill, plans would likely have to pay a mental health provider's bill without question, which would make it very difficult to control costs.

Third, this bill unnecessarily weakens the preemption requirements in the ERISA law. As a result, States would be free to enact standards greater than the Federal standard. Although the majority may argue that ERISA preemption is maintained, their language,

at a minimum, raises serious questions about the ability of States to enact laws and remedies that preempt ERISA and impact group health plans that currently operate under Federal law.

Litigation to determine the meaning of this provision will result and group health plans could be subjected to possibly 50 different State laws on mental health benefits, making it harder to provide one set of rules that apply to all plans. This violates a fundamental rule of ERISA, which creates efficiencies by preventing plans from having to comply with 50 or more different sets of laws. One set of rules, applied equally to all ERISA plans, makes high-quality coverage affordable and available to millions of Americans. If the majority were truly interested in preserving ERISA, they would have adopted the noncontroversial language contained in the competing Senate mental health parity bill.

Fourth, the bill mandates out-of-network coverage if any other benefit is operated on an out-of-network basis. This mandate will prevent plans from coordinating medical care, which will reduce quality and increase the cost of coverage.

Lastly, this bill will increase litigation against ERISA plans by permitting application of State remedies to federally mandated benefits. There will be absolutely no consistency in State court rulings, and litigation costs could skyrocket.

Mr. Speaker, while the broad issue of mental health parity enjoys widespread support, this bill does not. It is not a negotiated compromise between all parties that have a stake in this debate and, therefore, it is not in the best interest of the country as a whole.

However, a viable alternative to the House bill with broad mainstream support already exists and has passed the Senate. The Senate's bipartisan bill has extensive support from mental health advocates, health care providers and business groups representing virtually all sides of this debate. The Senate bill is the product of years of bipartisan negotiations which accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, provide parity for mental health benefits. It clearly reflects a more balanced and viable solution, and has a much better chance of becoming law if it were considered and passed by the House. Sadly, the majority has refused to consider that legislation, and instead offers the bill we are debating today, which gives preferential treatment to one particular class of medical benefits and has little or no chance of becoming law. Unfortunately, passage of the House bill will likely make it much more difficult to pass meaningful parity legislation this year.

For the reasons stated, I must oppose this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlelady from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin).

Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to yield now 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun).

May I inquire as to the amount of time remaining.

I'm going to be our last speaker.

I'll reserve.

Mr. Speaker, we do have another speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to yield at this time to the gentlelady from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin) 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I will add 1\1/2\ minutes to demonstrate also bipartisanship.

I'm the last speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I agree with much of what has been said here, because achieving parity between mental health and medical/surgical benefits is a goal that enjoys widespread support, and I support that. Had this bill been negotiated in an inclusive, cooperative fashion, I believe a parity law could quickly be enacted this year, ensuring access to coverage for those who need it.

There was a road map that would have allowed us to forge a consensus bill. On the other side of the Capitol, stakeholders were brought together and given the opportunity to find agreement on these difficult issues. There was give and take by everyone involved, which is how the Senate was able to produce a bill that achieves parity without undue burden on our employer-based health care system. Unfortunately, we're not following that road map. Instead, we're considering a bill that overreaches and in the process puts at risk many fundamental elements of private health insurance plans.

The majority argues that the latest variation of their proposal addresses key concerns. I wish that were true. Unfortunately, the bill we're considering today contains only modest changes that fail to fully resolve concerns about ERISA preemption, costly litigation, coverage mandates, and a host of other concerns.

By giving preferential treatment to mental health benefits over other types of medical coverage, the bill creates a lopsided system that may actually be biased against mental health coverage because some employers may choose to drop their mental health coverage or, worse, all health coverage rather than comply with more burdensome mandates.

Moreover, the list of conditions that would receive mandatory coverage under this bill would be laughable were it not posing such a serious risk to health care coverage for hardworking families. At a time when health care costs are rising, this bill threatens key management tools that have helped keep costs down. And by weakening ERISA preemption, the bill opens the door to increased litigation and a patchwork of confusing requirements and inefficiencies.

Mr. Speaker, there is a better way to provide parity for mental health benefits. The bill that passed the Senate provides a thoughtful, reasonable and a balanced approach that reflects the deliberations of all relevant stakeholders. Representatives Heather Wilson, John Kline and Dave Camp sought to offer that proposal today in the hopes that we would move quickly on a consensus proposal that could be signed into law. Their amendment also used a noncontroversial payment offset, unlike H.R. 1424. Unfortunately, as has become the hallmark of the 110th Congress, we were shut out of meaningful debate, and that amendment, along with a number of other improvements to the bill, will not be considered.

I support a balanced approach to mental health parity and, therefore, I cannot support this bill in its current form. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill so that we can take up the consensus legislation that enjoys community and other key stakeholders' support, those who share our commitment to provide equitable benefits that support mental health without jeopardizing our health care system as a whole. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1014, I call up the bill (H.R. 1424) to amend section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, section 2705 of the Public Health Service Act, and section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require equity in the provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to support the passage of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, a comprehensive bill which will establish full mental health and addiction care parity. My colleagues, Representative Patrick Kennedy and Representative Jim Ramstad, have worked exhaustively to complete the mission that Congress embarked upon more than 10 years ago through the passage of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. That 1996 act authorized for 5 years partial parity by mandating that the annual and lifetime dollar limit for mental health treatment under group health plans offering mental health coverage be no less than that for physical illnesses.

H.R. 1424, introduced by Representatives Kennedy and Ramstad, will fully ensure equity in coverage for mental illness and substance abuse disorders by requiring that group health plans with mental health coverage offer that coverage without the imposition of discriminatory financial requirements or discriminatory treatment limitations. The bill also protects against discrimination by diagnosis and requires plans to cover all mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Mental illnesses are biologically based disorders, and there is no reason we should affirmatively provide protections to a student with depression or a young adult with schizophrenia, but not a child with autism or an elderly person with dementia. The bill also requires equality in out-of-network coverage. Again, a plan need not offer out- of-network coverage, but if it does for medical conditions, it should for mental illnesses as well. There are many good actors that already offer equity in care. However, some try and create a phantom network of providers, where doctors in the network have long waiting lists or are not appropriate to treat certain illnesses.

Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals between the ages of 15 and 44. But many health disorders are very treatable illnesses. H.R. 1424 would allow those individuals and families struggling to cope with the diverse array of illnesses which fall under the category of mental illness to have greater access to affordable care in order to alleviate the tremendous burden that these conditions can cause.

Furthermore, H.R. 1424 will help to allow individuals that have been disabled by mental health and addiction disorders to acquire the treatment that they need in order to once again become productive members of society.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the passage of this important legislation which will ensure the equitable treatment of very serious diseases.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird).

Mr. Speaker, I would yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy), the sponsor of this legislation, who has been out on the road, and such a champion. I can't imagine what else to say about all his work on this.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our distinguished majority leader, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time until the end of the debate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to also thank the two sponsors of this legislation, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Ramstad. If any of you had been in Trenton, New Jersey, the day when Mr. Kennedy held a hearing, to see the compassion that he brought to the hearing, to hear him tell his personal story, to see those who are advocates for the bill in my State to show up and basically explain why the type of discrimination that exists now with regard to mental health coverage should not continue.

I think Mr. Kennedy said on the floor today that this is a civil rights issue, and that is true. People may doubt that a lot of discrimination continues to exist about mental illness, and certainly we have come a long way, there is no question about that, but the fact of the matter is that the discrimination continues. And although we have made some progress in terms of the Federal law, and even different States have passed legislation that is somewhat similar to this, the bottom line is

that we don't have absolute equality or equity at this point, and we need to make sure that if there is going to be mental health coverage, it covers all types of mental health illnesses as well as substance addiction. In addition to that, we want to make sure that the same is true, whether you are in or out of the health care network.

These two gentlemen, my colleagues Mr. Ramstad and Mr. Kennedy, have been working on this bill for such a long time, and it really is a tribute to them and to Paul Wellstone that we are about to pass this bill. We commit, myself and the other chairmen of our respective committees, that we will not only pass this, but we will make sure that we do a bill that we can conference between the two Houses and get it to the President and hopefully get him to sign it before the end of this session.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Yes, I continue to reserve my point of order.

Mr. Speaker, I insist on my point of order. The gentleman is not confining his remarks to the point of order.

Mr. Speaker, I insist on my point of order.

I raise a point of order that the motion to recommit contains nongermane instructions in violation of clause 7 of Rule XVI. The instructions in the motion to recommit address an unrelated matter within the jurisdiction of a committee not represented in the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to table the appeal.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my chairman for yielding and commend Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Ramstad for bringing this bill to our attention.

Someone who is struggling with substance abuse addiction or bipolar disorder, they shouldn't be under a different set of rules for getting their bills paid by their insurance company than if they had a knee injury. That is what this is about. If you have a $500 deductible for knee surgery, you ought to have a $500 deductible for your care for alcoholism or drug treatment or bipolar disorder. The insurance industry would be required to do that under this provision.

What would be wrong with that? Why would people be concerned about this? The first argument that we have heard is that there is a defined set of benefits that would have to be offered here to protect people with mental health and substance abuse issues. Well, there is a reason for that, because the insurance industry in this country has made it a practice of telling us what they don't cover. It is a cottage industry for people to find out that procedures are experimental or there is not enough justification. People find out every day that coverage they thought they had is no longer covered.

The second objection we hear from people is that this costs too much. That directly contravenes the evidence. As a matter of fact, the evidence shows over the long haul this saves money. And in the worst case scenario, the premium increase because of mental health parity laws is 0.6 percent per year, a minimal cost that is far outweighed by the benefit.

Finally, we hear concerns about small businesses. This provision exempts small businesses of 50 and fewer employees.

This is simple good sense. It says that a substance abuse problem or mental health issue should be treated under the same rules for getting your bill paid by your insurance company as a knee operation would be. Mental illness and substance abuse reaches across racial lines, class lines, religious lines, and geographic lines. It reaches into many, many families, including families represented in this institution.

This is a reform that is long overdue. It is why it is a reform that has support from both Republicans and Democrats. I would urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a commonsense step towards helping families across this country and vote ``yes'' on this much-needed piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 30 seconds to the author of the bill, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at this time to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack) who has been a vigorous advocate for mental health issues since his arrival here.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining on each side.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to a gentleman who has become expert on both the military and civilian health care system, my friend and neighbor from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I'm pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a very powerful voice for the voiceless, the gentlelady from New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter).

I have others I can yield to.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes at this time to a gentleman who really understands the interface of insurance and health care law, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to my friend and neighbor from the State of New Jersey, Mr. Holt.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege at this time to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Chicago (Mr. Davis), a member of the committee.

I would reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.

I would say that the manuals referred to in this bill make no reference whatsoever to any abortion services as a covered benefit.

At this time, I'd be pleased to demonstrate bipartisan support for this bill and yield 1 minute to the gentleman, my friend from Connecticut, Mr. Shays.

Mr. Speaker, if I could inquire of my friend from California if he has any further speakers.

At this point, Mr. Speaker, I would yield to the gentlelady from California who has worked on this issue for many years on the committee, Mrs. Davis, for 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I would just represent that I am the last speaker on our side for this portion of the debate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the Education and Labor Committee's time.

My friend from California says that mental health parity is a goal that he lauds. Well, it's a goal that we should achieve right here, right now, today, by passing this bill.

We've heard the argument that the bill establishes preferential treatment for people with mental health and substance abuse issues, exactly the opposite of the truth. The bill establishes parity and equal treatment between mental health and substance abuse and physical and surgical benefits.

We've heard the concern that medical management practices that control costs have been taken out of the bill. What is also true, however, is that nothing in present law, nothing in the status quo precludes medical management practices that are useful in offsetting costs. There is nothing that prohibits that.

Finally, we hear that there is a concern that employers confronted with the defined benefit package, with the guaranteed rights of the insured under this will drop coverage. In States that have similar provisions, there is not a shred of empirical evidence that that is the case. Where State laws extend robust protections to mental health and substance abuse benefits, employers have not dropped mental health coverage; in fact, it has expanded.

This is the right time for the right bill. Its cost is minimal, its benefit is great, its support is bipartisan, and its time for passage is now.

I would urge each of our colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to join this bipartisan coalition and vote ``yes'' on the legislation offered by Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Ramstad.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of the Education and Labor Committee's time.