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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act 
of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. 
Sec. 3. Amendments to the Public Health Service Act relating to the group 
market. 
Sec. 5. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
Sec. 5. Government Accountability Office studies and reports. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT IN-
COME SECURITY ACT OF 1974. 
(a) EXTENSION OF PARITY TO TREATMENT LIMITS 
AND BENEFICIARY FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
712 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1185a) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT LIMITS.— 
‘‘(A) NO TREATMENT LIMIT.—If the plan 
or coverage does not include a treatment limit 
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(as defined in subparagraph (D)) on substan-
tially all medical and surgical benefits in any 
category of items or services, the plan or cov-
erage may not impose any treatment limit on 
mental health and substance-related disorder 
benefits that are classified in the same category 
of items or services. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT LIMIT.—If the plan or 
coverage includes a treatment limit on substan-
tially all medical and surgical benefits in any 
category of items or services, the plan or cov-
erage may not impose such a treatment limit on 
mental health and substance-related disorder 
benefits for items and services within such cat-
egory that are more restrictive than the pre-
dominant treatment limit that is applicable to 
medical and surgical benefits for items and 
services within such category. 
‘‘(C) CATEGORIES
OF
ITEMS
AND
SERV-
ICES FOR APPLICATION OF TREATMENT LIMITS 
AND
BENEFICIARY
FINANCIAL
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—For purposes of this paragraph and 
paragraph (4), there shall be the following four 
categories of items and services for benefits, 
whether medical and surgical benefits or mental 
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health and substance-related disorder benefits, 
and all medical and surgical benefits and all 
mental health and substance related benefits 
shall be classified into one of the following cat-
egories: 
‘‘(i) INPATIENT, IN-NETWORK.—Items 
and services furnished on an inpatient 
basis and within a network of providers es-
tablished or recognized under such plan or 
coverage. 
‘‘(ii) INPATIENT, OUT-OF-NETWORK.— 
Items and services furnished on an inpa-
tient basis and outside any network of pro-
viders established or recognized under such 
plan or coverage. 
‘‘(iii) OUTPATIENT, 
IN-NETWORK.— 
Items and services furnished on an out-
patient basis and within a network of pro-
viders established or recognized under such 
plan or coverage. 
‘‘(iv) 
OUTPATIENT, 
OUT-OF-NET-
WORK.—Items and services furnished on 
an outpatient basis and outside any net-
work of providers established or recognized 
under such plan or coverage. 
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