I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6712 
To require the disclosure to parents of information regarding mental illness 
treatment for their children under the age of 26. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 27, 2012 
Ms. RICHARDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require the disclosure to parents of information regarding 
mental illness treatment for their children under the 
age of 26. 
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 ‘‘Elgin Stafford Mental 
Illness Information Disclosure Act of 2012’’ or ‘‘Elgin’s 
Law’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Mental illness is the leading cause of dis-
ability, as reflected in lost years of productive life, 
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in North America, in Europe, and, increasingly, in 
the world. By 2020, major depressive illness will be 
the leading cause of disability in the world for 
women and children. 
(2) Mental illnesses strike individuals in the 
prime of their lives, often during adolescence and 
young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the 
young and the old are especially vulnerable. 
(3) Without treatment, the consequences of 
mental illness for the individual and society are stag-
gering, including unnecessary disability, unemploy-
ment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate 
incarceration, suicide, wasted lives, and an economic 
cost of more than $100 billion each year in the 
United States. 
(4) The best treatments for serious mental ill-
nesses today are highly effective so that between 70 
and 90 percent of individuals with serious mental ill-
ness have significant reduction of symptoms and im-
proved quality of life with a combination of pharma-
cological and psychosocial treatments and supports. 
(5) Since early identification and treatment is 
of vital importance in treating mental illness, espe-
cially for children and young adults, the active, 
knowledgeable, and sympathetic involvement of par-
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ents and legal guardians is to be encouraged to the 
maximum extent practicable, consistent with gen-
erally accepted and established clinical practice. 
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE TO PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS 
OF MENTAL ILLNESS TREATMENT OF CHIL-
DREN UNDER THE AGE OF 26. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a covered individual 
(as defined in subsection (e)(1)) who is being treated for 
mental illness by a health care professional, subject to sub-
section (b), the health care professional shall disclose to 
a parent (if any) of the individual such information re-
garding the mental illness and treatment for mental illness 
as may be useful for the appropriate involvement of the 
parent with respect to the treatment. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply in 
such exceptional circumstances as the Secretary may pro-
vide by regulation where the involvement of the parent 
would be counter-productive to the treatment involved. 
(c) APPLICATION
OF HIPAA PRIVACY REGULA-
TIONS.—For purposes of applying the HIPAA privacy reg-
ulations, the disclosure of information under this section 
shall be treated as a permissible disclosure not requiring 
the consent of the covered individual involved. 
(d) PUBLICATION
AND NOTICE
ON DEPARTMENT 
WEBSITES.—The Secretary shall post information on the 
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requirements of this section on such websites of the De-
partment of Health and Human Services as may be appro-
priate to inform the public and health care professionals. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 
individual’’ means an individual who— 
(A) is— 
(i) a minor child; 
(ii) an uninsured adult under the age 
of 26; or 
(iii) an adult under the age of 26 who 
is covered as a dependent under the health 
benefits coverage of a parent; and 
(B) is being treated for mental illness by 
a health care professional. 
(2) HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE.—The term 
‘‘health benefits coverage’’ has the meaning given 
the term ‘‘minimum essential coverage’’ in section 
5000A(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(3) HIPAA PRIVACY REGULATIONS.—The term 
‘‘HIPAA privacy regulations’’ has the meaning given 
the term ‘‘HIPAA privacy regulation’’ in section 
1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320d–9(b)(3)). 
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(4) MENTAL ILLNESS.—The term ‘‘mental ill-
ness’’ means a chronic illness such as schizophrenia, 
schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and major 
clinical depression, and such term includes other 
conditions contained in the Diagnostic and Statis-
tical Manual of Mental Disorders IV published by 
the American Psychiatric Association (or any suc-
cessor publication by such Association). 
(5) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ includes a 
legal guardian. 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
(7) UNINSURED.—An individual shall be treat-
ed as uninsured if the individual is not covered 
under any health benefits coverage. 
Æ 
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