News Notes: Expanded Mental Health Parity Measure Dies In Congress

House Republicans have defeated a measure that would have forced insurers to cover mental health conditions to the same extent that they cover other medical problems. The provision, which the Senate had tacked on to a federal spending bill, would not have required employers to provide mental health coverage as part of employee benefits, but if they did offer it, they would have had to provide comparable coverage—such as the same co-payments and deductibles—as for physical conditions. Congress voted instead to renew for another year the original parity law that expired in September 2001, which mandates equal coverage only for annual lifetime benefits provided patients, not for hospital stays or doctor visits. The original law also allows employers an exemption if there is a 1% or greater increase in their costs as a result of the law.