Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) today voted for bipartisan mental health parity legislation that would expand insurance coverage for those suffering from mental disorders. After his effort to bring forward a broadly-supported Senate alternative was defeated, Reichert opposed final passage of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, because it could reduce access to care for the mentally ill and force the closure of a vital hospital in Washington State.

“Mental disorders are very real and very critical medical conditions, and they must be treated as seriously as diseases of the lungs or heart,” said Reichert.  “I am pleased that Congress is taking up the issue of parity in the coverage of these disorders and I fully support mental health parity. There is widespread support in Congress for parity in mental health coverage, and the best way to make this goal a reality is to work in a bipartisan fashion and in collaboration with all of the members of the mental health advocacy community.

“That’s why I cosponsored an amendment to replace the controversial House legislation with a version that enjoys the full support of mental health patients, providers, and affected members of the business community. This carefully crafted compromise unanimously passed the Senate last year with the support of Senators Murray and Cantwell.”

Reichert continued, “I am disappointed that the House refused to consider this broadly-supported, bipartisan legislation, and instead moved forward with a flawed bill that is simply too extreme and could derail the enactment of mental health parity altogether. The House bill could raise health care costs, reduce access to care for those suffering from mental illnesses, and close the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center. We must move forward with mental health coverage, but we cannot do so in a way that forces thousands of Washingtonians to lose access to medical services.”

Reichert joined Representatives Heather Wilson (NM-01), John Kline (MN-02), and Dave Camp (MI-04) in bringing the Senate alternative before the House. After House leadership did not permit its consideration, Reichert took to the House floor to advocate for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ0JO8kr7P8.

The alternative bill (S.558) unanimously passed the Senate in September 2007. Among numerous provisions, it ensures coverage for mental illnesses and addiction disorders without requiring employers to offer coverage for disorders like jet lag, caffeine addiction, and mathematics disorder. 285 organizations support the Senate measure that Reichert brought forward as an alternative. A list can be found here: http://www.mhlg.org/01-02-08.pdf. 

Congressman Reichert has championed work on health care in the 110th Congress and throughout his tenure in office. His most recent health care accomplishments include: founding and co-chairing the bipartisan Congressional Children’s Health Care Caucus; sponsoring and passing an amendment to bolster children’s emergency medical care (H.R. 3043), leading the fight in Congress to significantly increase funding for critical medical research at the National Institutes of Health, and serving in the Centrist Health Care Coalition, a congressional working group that meets monthly to explore and discuss a range of bipartisan, pragmatic ideas for reforming our health care system.

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