Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005

Bill: 109-hr-1402
Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Patrick J. [D-RI-1]
Introduced: 2005-03-17 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: 2005-03-17
text: 
 Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan or group health coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the mental health benefits unless comparable limitations or requirements are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Excludes such requirements for plans and coverage for small employers. 
 
Allows a plan or coverage that provides in-network mental health benefits to provide out-of-network mental health benefits using treatment limitations or financial requirements that are not comparable to those applied to medical-surgical benefits if the in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and with reasonable access. 
 
 
 
 
Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) study the effects of this Act on health insurance costs and access and quality of health care; and (2) provide a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-09-28
text: Motion to Discharge Committee filed by Mr. Kennedy (RI). Petition No: 109-18. (<a href="http://clerk.house.gov/109/lrc/pd/Petitions/Dis18.htm">Discharge petition</a> text with signatures.)
action_date: 2005-04-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
action_date: 2005-03-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
action_date: 2005-03-17
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: 2005-03-17
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: 2005-03-17
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: 2005-03-17
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Introduced in House