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Family & Friends
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Dear EDC Members and Supporters,Thank you for all your unified effort in supporting the passage of mental health parity! We are close to victory in the House of Representatives— to pass H.R. 1424, the “Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act”. This bill would require health plans to cover eating disorders and has made it out of 2 committees and the subcommittee of Energy and Commerce. The last step in order for the bill to go to the floor for a vote is to get moved out of the Energy & Commerce Full Committee. That mark-up is scheduled for next Tuesday, October 16th. We need your action on this!If your Representative is a member of that Committee, please call him/her on Monday morning to urge a “YES” vote on the bill, and a “NO” vote on all weakening amendments!STEP 1: Find out who your member of Congress is by going to www.house.gov and typing in your zip code in the box in the upper left-hand corner.STEP 2: Find out if your member is on the Energy & Commerce Committee by checking this list of committee members.STEP 3: If your member is on Energy & Commerce, make a call!SUGGESTED MESSAGE“I’m calling to ask the Congressman/woman to VOTE FOR H.R. 1424 on Tuesday in the Energy & Commerce Committee, and to VOTE AGAINST all amendments to substitute weaker language. Americans deserve the same mental health parity protections that members of Congress enjoy, for all mental and addictive disorders, not just the ones health plans choose to cover.”BACKGROUNDSeveral amendments are expected to be offered to weaken H.R. 1424, including by substituting the language of the parity bill recently passed by the Senate, S. 558. Although S. 558 is a good step forward, H.R. 1424 is an even stronger bill, and will do more for individuals with eating disorders and other mental disorders:*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 would require those health plans covering mental and addictive disorder services to cover the full range of mental disorders for which members of Congress are covered. S. 558 would let private-sector health plans continue to deny coverage for certain diagnoses, although everyone enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is covered for the entire range of mental and addictive disorders. Ask yourself (and ask your Congressman!): If coverage for the full range of mental disorders is good enough for members of Congress and other federal employees, why isn’t it good enough for everyone else?*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 would make sure that patients have equal access to out-of-network providers. All too often, health plans restrict access to care by restricting access to covered providers. H.R. 1424 addresses this issue by requiring those health plans which allow out-of-network coverage for general medical care to provide similar coverage for out-of-network care for mental and addictive disorders.*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 requires health plans to make public their criteria for determining “medical necessity.” Contrary to some claims by opponents, H.R. 1424 allows health plans to continue to deny payment for services which are not medically necessary. The bill does, however, require health plans to make clear how they make such determinations.*** Unlike S. 558, H.R. 1424 would NOT override state managed care and medical management laws. Many states have passed such laws in order to protect their citizens. H.R. 1424 keeps these laws in place.Thank you for your help!
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Do you care about these issues? Support the EDC.We focus on Washington, D.C., and national policies on eating disorders. We work with Congress, the federal government, the media, and others. From our office across the street from the U.S. Capitol complex, we call attention to the Americans struggling and dying from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and eating disorders not otherwise specified.Your donation will make a difference. No amount is too small or too large. Click the button below to donate online.Or, mail a check payable to Eating Disorders Coalition, to the address below.Eating Disorders Coalition
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