Projo Politics Blog

Updated / 7:10 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives passed Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy's mental-health parity legislation on a 376-to-47 vote tonight.

The Rhode Island Democrat's bill now awaits Senate action that may not be easy to secure this week because of the crush of urgent business, including the bail-out of the nation's financial system.

More about the bill and its path through Congress, in this post published today at 6:35 p.m.:

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington bureau

After languishing for months in disagreements over how to pay for it, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy's signature mental health bill has come alive today in separate House and Senate proceedings.

But the mental health parity bill is far from a sure thing as Congress rushes to bail out the financial system, come up with the money to keep the government running and finish the rest of its "must'' legislation before it adjourns for the remainder of the campaign season.

In keeping with this week's frantic atmosphere on Capitol Hill, the parliamentary outlook for the mental health parity is complex. Ostensibly, the chances for a bill-signing ceremony with President Bush look good, because Rhode Island Democrat Kennedy and his allies have mustered overwhelming support in both houses for their effort to make insurance companies cover mental illness on the same footing as physical illness.

But in order to beat the legislative clock, mental health advocates are pursuing a two-track approach that could yet come up short.

About a year ago the Senate unanimously passed a version of the bill that enjoyed broad support from the mental health lobby, the insurance industry and business interests generally. That represented a victory for the longtime chief Senate sponsors of the initiative, including Rep. Kennedy's father, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M.

The House followed suit early this year with a more generous version, co-sponsored by Patrick Kennedy and Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., that risked opposition from business groups. The two men were linked by their experience as alcoholics who found recovery in part because they had medical insurance that covered addiction treatment.

After months of negotiations, supporters of the two bills struck a compromise on the workings of the equal insurance coverage for mental patients and addicts. But differences persisted over how to cover the cost of the new system. Budget and tax writers in the two houses made strides on that front over the summer, tentatively settling on a plan to attach the mental health bill to a big package of tax legislation considered a good bet for passage. But that deal failed to materialize before Congress adjourned for its summer recess.

This afternoon, the House debated and appeared likely to pass a stand-alone mental health bill that embraces the earlier compromise on how parity would work, plus a new financing mechanism considered broadly acceptable to the Senate.

Early this evening, the Senate passed its tax extenders bill, 93 to 2, which includes the mental health parity bill. The House was voting on its version of the legislation as of 6:30 p.m.

Read the rest of the post, originally published on projo.com' 7to7 newsblog.

 Tags  mental health mental health parity bill Rep. Patrick Kennedy

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