Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003

Bill: 108-hr-953
Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Patrick J. [D-RI-1]
Introduced: 2003-02-27 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Alcoholism
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Coinsurance
Commerce
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Discrimination in insurance
Discrimination in medical care
Drug abuse
Drug abuse treatment
Employee health benefits
Finance and Financial Sector
Health insurance
Insurance premiums
Labor and Employment
Managed care
Medical economics
Mental health services
Quality of care
Small business
Standards

Summary:
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurances providing both medical-surgical and mental health benefits from imposing mental health treatment limitations or financial requirements unless comparable limitations and requirements are imposed upon medical-surgical benefits. States that the foregoing shall not be construed as requiring a group health plan (or related insurances) to: (1) provide any mental health benefits; (2) prevent the medical management of mental health benefits; or (3) require the provision of specific mental health services, except to the extent that failure to provide such services would result in a disparity between the coverage of mental health and medical-surgical benefits.
Exempts specified small employers from such requirements.
Requires that, in the case of a group health plan that offers a participant or beneficiary two or more benefit package options, the coverage requirements shall be applied separately with respect to each such option.
Provides that, in the case of a plan or insurance providing in-network mental health benefits, out-of-network mental health benefits need not be provided at parity to medical-surgical benefits, as long as in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and the plan or insurance provides reasonable access to in-network providers and facilities.
Requires a General Accounting Office study of such requirements' effects upon health insurance costs, access, and quality and a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-03-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
action_date: 2003-03-10
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E312)
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-02-27
text: Introduced in House