Lawmakers make a final push for mental health bill

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-NM, is still pushing for legislation that would require insurance plans to treat mental health patients on par with those who have physical ailments. In the past, employers and insurers were concerned that legislation would have required plans to cover a "telephone book" of conditions, raising costs beyond what companies and their workers could afford and potentially negating companies' ability to offer any health coverage at all. The legislation now before the House does not mandate that group health plans cover mental health or addiction treatment, only that when plans do so, the coverage must be equitable to other medical coverage. The insurance industry is also now a strong supporter of the parity legislation.