I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2445
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public
Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify
the application of the mental health parity provisions to annual and
lifetime visit or benefit limits, as well as dollar limits.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 1, 1999
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr.
TOWNS, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. NADLER,
Mr. SERRANO, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. HINCHEY) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Work-
force, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the application of the
mental health parity provisions to annual and lifetime
visit or benefit limits, as well as dollar limits.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Parity
Enhancement Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF MENTAL HEALTH PARITY PROVI-
SIONS TO ANNUAL AND LIFETIME VISIT OR
BENEFIT LIMITS.
(a) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT
INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Section 712(e) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29
U.S.C. 1185a(e)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after ‘‘a dol-
lar limitation on the total amount that may be paid’’
the following: ‘‘or a number or visits or other limita-
tion on the benefits that may be covered’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘a dol-
lar limitation on the total amount of benefits that
may be paid’’ the following: ‘‘or a number of visits
or other limitation on the benefits that may be cov-
ered’’.
(b) AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
ACT.—Section 2705(e) of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 300gg–5(e)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after ‘‘a dol-
lar limitation on the total amount that may be paid’’
the following: ‘‘or a number or visits or other limita-
tion on the benefits that may be covered’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘a dol-
lar limitation on the total amount of benefits that
may be paid’’ the following: ‘‘or a number of visits
or other limitation on the benefits that may be cov-
ered’’.
(c) AMENDMENTS
TO
THE INTERNAL REVENUE
CODE OF 1986.—Section 9812(e) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after ‘‘a dol-
lar limitation on the total amount that may be paid’’
the following: ‘‘or a number or visits or other limita-
tion on the benefits that may be covered’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘a dol-
lar limitation on the total amount of benefits that
may be paid’’ the following: ‘‘or a number of visits
or other limitation on the benefits that may be cov-
ered’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—(1) Subject to paragraph
(2), the amendments made by this section shall apply with
respect to group health plans for plan years beginning on
or after July 1, 2000.
(2) In the case of a group health plan maintained
pursuant to 1 or more collective bargaining agreements
between employee representatives and 1 or more employ-
ers ratified before the date of enactment of this Act, the
amendments made by this section shall not apply to plan
years beginning before the later of—
(A) the date on which the last collective bar-
gaining agreements relating to the plan terminates
(determined without regard to any extension thereof
agreed to after the date of enactment of this Act),
or
(B) January 1, 2001.
For purposes of subparagraph (A), any plan amendment
made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement relat-
ing to the plan which amends the plan solely to conform
to any requirement added by this section shall not be
treated as a termination of such collective bargaining
agreement.
(e) COORDINATED REGULATIONS.—Section 104(1) of
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996 is amended by striking ‘‘this subtitle (and the
amendments made by this subtitle and section 401)’’ and
inserting ‘‘the provisions of part 7 of subtitle B of title
I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, the provisions of parts A and C of title XXVII of
the Public Health Service Act, and chapter 100 of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986’’.
Æ