As NAMI advocates know, federal legislation to end insurance
discrimination against children and adults with
severe mental illnesses was rejected by the
House in the closing days of the 2001 congressional
session. The Senate had attached parity
legislation (S 543) to the FY 2002 Labor-HHS-Education
spending bill (HR 3061), but this amendment
was rejected at the urging of key House leaders.
2002 brings a new opportunity for NAMI advocates
to push for federal parity legislation.
In rejecting parity late last year, the leaders
of several key House committees pledged to convene
hearings on insurance discrimination in 2002.
This action was also directed by language included
in the final version of HR 3061 that President
Bush recently signed into law.
Despite this clear direction to the House committees
that have jurisdiction over parity, grassroots
action on the part of NAMI consumer and family
advocates is needed to make hearings and eventual
legislative action on parity a reality.
There
are three separate committees in the House that
have legislative jurisdiction over federal parity:
· Education & the Workforce
(parity requires an amendment to the federal
ERISA law that governs self-insured health
plans) · Energy &
Commerce (parity requires an amendment to the
federal Public Health Service Act that
sets standards for fully insured health plans),
and. Ways & Means (parity requires an amendment
to the tax code in order to ensure meaningful
enforcement on health plans). With
members on two of the three committees,
New Jersey will play a key role in the fight
for parity. It is incumbent on NAMI NEW
JERSEY advocates to press our State's members
of these committees to move forward expeditiously
on parity hearings in 2002. Members of
Congress respond most readily to pressure from
their own constituents. It is therefore
critically important that the members of these
three House committees hear directly from NAMI
advocates and affiliates about the importance
holding hearings on mental illness insurance
parity as soon as possible.
HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE:
Frank
Pallone, Jr. (Long Branch, NJ)
504
Broadway, Long Branch, 07740
732-571-1140, Fax 732-870-3890
I.E.I. Airport Plaza, Hwy. 36, Suite 104 Hazlet
07730
732-264-9104, Fax 732-739-4668
67-69 Church St., Kilmer Square, New Brunswick
08901
732-249-8892, Fax 732-249-1335
Email frank.pallone@mail.house.gov
HOUSE
EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEE:
Donald
Payne (Newark, NJ)
MLK,
Federal Court Bldg., Rm 1016, 50 Walnut St.,
Newark 07102
973-645-3213, Fax 973-645-5902
333 N. Broad, Elizabeth 07208
908-629-0222, Fax 908-629-0221
E-mail donald.payne@mail.house.gov
Robert
Andrews (Haddon Heights, NJ)
506A
White Horse Pike Haddon Heights, 08035
609-546-5100, Fax 609-546-9529
63 North Broad St., Woodbury 08096
609-848-3900, Fax 609-848-8341
Rush
Holt (Princeton Junction, NJ)
50 Washington Road, Princeton Junction 08550
609-750-9365, Fax 609-750-0618
Toll free 877-874-4658
E-mail rush.holt@mail.house.gov
SAMPLE LETTER:
The
Honorable ______________
Address
Dear Representative ________________:
On behalf of NAMI ____________, I am writing
to urge your support for ( House
Energy and Commerce or House Education
and the Workforce) Committee hearings
on mental illness insurance parity legislation
early in 2002. I urge you to contact the
committee Chairman to strongly encourage
him to convene hearings as soon as possible
to ensure expedited House action on legislation
to end insurance discrimination against individuals
with severe mental illnesses and their families.
As you may know, the Senate passed full mental
illness insurance parity legislation (S 543)
last year as part of the FY 2002 Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations bill (HR 3061). Unfortunately,
the Senate amendment did not end up in the final
version of HR 3061. However, in rejecting
the mental illness insurance parity amendment,
the House-Senate Conference Report on HR 3061
included the following language: The conferees
recognize the devastating impact of mental illnesses
on Americans from every walk of life and the
widespread bipartisan support of mental health
parity legislation in both houses of Congress.
The conferees strongly urge the committees of
jurisdiction in the House and the Senate to
convene early hearings and undertake swift consideration
of legislation to extend and improve mental
health parity protections during the second
session of the 107th Congress. H.Rpt. 107-342
NAMI ___________ strongly urges you and your
colleagues on the Committee
to move forward on this directive to hold hearings
on mental illness insurance parity legislation
and bring forward a bill to the full House as
soon as possible. Americans living with
mental illness have waited too long for federal
legislation to end insurance discrimination.
As the Congress moves forward on hearings and
legislative action on mental illness parity,
NAMI ____________ would like to thank you for
your past support of mental health parity and
your leadership in making parity a reality in
2002. Thank you for your attention on
this important matter for the consumer and family
members of NAMI __________. We look forward
to working with you to ensure quick House passage
of mental illness insurance parity legislation
and would look forward to meeting with you in
your district office to discuss this issue further.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
NAMI
NEW JERSEY is a statewide coalition of self-help
support and advocacy groups composed of families
and friends of persons with a serious mental
illness. With chapters in all 21
counties we are New Jerseys largest grassroots
organization dedicated to improving the quality
of life of individuals who have a serious
mental illness and their families.
