On March 5, 2008, the House of Representatives passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. This bill would significantly expand the scope of the Mental Health Parity Act approved by Congress in 1996.
The original law prohibits lifetime and annual limits on mental health treatment. The new bill would require that plans that cover mental health provide the same level of benefits for both mental health and substance abuse treatment as are provided for medical and surgical treatment. As with the original law, the new bill only applies to employers with more than 50 employees.
The Senate passed a similar bill several months ago and now a conference committee must work out the differences between the two bills.
Posted by johngarner 
