Kennedy Letter of Support for Parity Regulations
Read the letter of support the Rep. Patrick Kennedy and many other House colleagues have circulated urging the Secretaries of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services to issue regulations in compliance with the 2008 parity bill.

Ask Your Senators to Support Parity Regulations!
After years of hard work by consumers, families and advocates, Congress passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 on October 3, 2008. The bill requires the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury to issue regulations before the effective date for the Act which is January 1, 2010. It is essential the regulations are issued to avoid misinterpretation of the law and to ensure access to critical mental health and addiction services.

Parity Frequently Asked Questions
What is insurance parity and what does it mean for you?

Federal Parity for Mental Illness and Addictions
Learn more about the federal parity law that goes into effect in October 2009.

NAMI Comments on the "Request for Information" on upcoming regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
Read NAMI's comments on the regulations designed to implement the new insurance parity law.

NAMI Responds to Senate Finance Options Papers on Healthcare Reform
As Congress moves forward toward long awaited action on health reform, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has released several "Policy Option" papers outlining possible alternative approaches to key issues such as coverage expansion, delivery system reform and financing. NAMI has provided responses to the Senate Finance Committee -- both separately and jointly with colleague organizations.

What You Need to Know about the New Federal Insurance Parity Law
With the passage of the Paul Wellstone-Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, health plans must now provide equal coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment as they do for other conditions.

Victory on Parity!
By a vote of 263-171, the House this afternoon gave final approval to the Paul Wellstone-Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (HR 1424). President Bush is expected to sign the legislation late today or early tomorrow.

Current Status of Federal Mental Illness Insurance Parity Legislation
With only a week left before projected final adjournment, the House and Senate are at risk of a procedural impasse over long awaited legislation to require health plans to cover mental illness and substance abuse treatment on the same terms and conditions as all other illnesses.

Agreement is in Place on Mental Illness Insurance Parity
Separate mental health insurance parity bills have passed the Senate (on September 18, 2007) and the House (on March 5, 2008) by wide bipartisan margins. The bills (S 558 and HR 1424) were never far apart on substance, and in the end negotiations centered on narrow issues such as parity in out of network coverage and notice to plan enrollees in cases where a group health plan seeks a temporary exemption from the parity requirement.

Agreement is in Place on Mental Illness Insurance Parity
Before leaving Washington for the August recess, sponsors of parity legislation reached an agreement on a final bill to require equitable coverage in health plans for mental illness treatment. Now all that is remaining is to find a “budget offset” and resolve how the bill will be sent to the President.

Bridging the Gap Between S 558 and HR 1424
Learn more about the differences between the House and Senate parity bills that will have to be resolved in order to pass a bill acceptable to both sides.

NAMI National’s Position on the House Parity Bill
NAMI believes that the best chance for passage of parity in 2008 is for movement of a final bill similar to S 558 so that any final bill can get through the Senate and be sent to the President and be signed into law this year.

Analysis of the House and Senate Mental Illness Insurance Parity Bills
A comparison and contrast of HR 1424 and S 558, the 2007 House and Senate mental health parity bills.

Summary of the Manager's Amendment

New Analysis of the Senate Mental Health Parity Bill
Professor Sara Rosenbaum's analysis of the preemption provisions in the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007.

Mental Health Insurance Coverage: A Guide to State Parity Law
This guide to state mental health parity laws includes an overview, a description of the components of parity legislation, and sample language from state statutes.

State Mental Health Parity Laws
This state-by-state guide offers a summary of the type and scope of each state's parity law. Also includes links to statutes where available.

NAMI Testimony in Support of Insurance Parity and Medicare Modernization
NAMI testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee in support of insurance parity and Medicare modernization.

NAMI Applauds Bipartisan Mental Illness Insurance Parity Bill
NAMI is proud to support the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 and the unprecedented bipartisan agreement achieved by Senators Pete Domenici, Ted Kennedy and Mike Enzi.