This Bazelon Center report analyzes the mental illness insurance coverage proposed in H.R. 3962, the House health reform bill.

From the report:

The bill would require all participating health plans to provide mental health and substance use coverage. This mandated coverage, along with the requirement that coverage must be at parity with general medical and surgical coverage, is quite significant. Past proposals to cover the uninsured typically allowed health plans to discriminate with coverage that excluded mental health and substance use services, restricted access to these services by discriminatory limits on annual and lifetime benefits and placed more restrictive terms and conditions on this coverage. Last year’s enactment of the Wellstone-Domenici Parity Act, requiring parity in employer sponsored group plans of 50 or more that offer mental health and substance use coverage, was a milestone for non-discrimination in insurance coverage. It is fitting that H.R. 3962 builds on this accomplishment and provides protection from discrimination to those obtaining coverage individually or through small group plans.

Full report available at:  The Affordable Health Care for America Act: Assessing Coverage for Mental Illness (PDF | 325.04 KB)

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. (2009).  The Affordable Health Care for America Act: assessing coverage for mental illness.