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<nobr>Mar 4, 2008</nobr>
ERIC Urges House Members to Oppose Mental Health Parity Mandate
Washington, D.C. -- In a letter sent today to all House Members, ERIC Vice President for Health Policy Edwina Rogers urged Members to oppose H.R. 1424, The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, when the legislation comes up for a vote this week.
ERIC applauds companies that offer mental health coverage, but is opposed to an employer mandate -- particularly one that would require employers to offer coverage based on standards created by the trade association representing the mental health industry -- an unprecedented grab-bag of "fence me in" standards. "If H.R. 1424 were made law, providers would be entitled to employer plan reimbursement for treating ailments such as jet lag, shyness, poor academic achievement, and sibling rivalry," Rogers said.
"The irony of the 'parity' legislation is that it would require those employers who are already providing coverage for mental ailments to meet even greater standards drafted by industry representatives who have a direct conflict of interest and seek to profit from the legislative mandate. The effect will be to obstruct the contractual relationships employers have worked tirelessly to negotiate with their plan administrators," Rogers further says.
Moreover, "[t]his is not the time -- with record yearly inflation in employer health related expenditures -- that our members, or their employees, can afford a shock to their group health plans created by the cost strain that the authors of this legislation themselves anticipate."
Rogers urged House Members "to take a more thoughtful approach to improving our nation's mental health system than the politically expedient proposal of imposing an employer mandate."
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For more information:
Ted Godbout
Manager, Communications
The ERISA Industry Committee
1400 L Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 789-1400
Fax: (202) 789-1120
tgodbout@eric.org
www.eric.org
Websites:
Letter to House
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