Government Relations and Communications Staff

February 8, 2007 -- APA strongly supports Senate legislation to provide full parity in mental health insurance coverage that will be introduced the week of February 12. APA Executive Director Russ Newman, PhD, JD, sent a letter of support on February 7 to the two bill sponsors, Sen. Pete Domenici (R- NM) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

Gaining this proposal required many months of negotiations with traditional opponents of parity legislation in the insurance and employer industry. The parity bill sponsors and other key policy makers on Capitol Hill called on staff for APA Practice Organization (APAPO) to participate in these negotiations. The APAPO provided actuarial analysis and legislative drafting expertise to achieve a strong parity bill. As a result of the negotiations, traditional opponents have joined forces with proponents including APA to support the Senate proposal.

We expect the Senate Health Committee to mark up and pass the parity proposal next week.

Please visit APA Practice for important updates about this high priority legislation.