Support the Parity Bills in Congress Now!!!
 
         A Message from the Chairman of ASAM's Parity Action Group

Dear ASAM Member,

We are at an important moment in time when the federal government  may take the opportunity to include all disorders of brain cell function in the mainstream of medical care, not just those with neurological, neurovascular or neoplastic lesions.  This may well happen during this session of Congress, though the forces of inertia, fear and misunderstanding are trying to maintain the status quo.  Our federal delegation is at home for the rest of this month on "recess" and, while they are home in their district, you have an opportunity to call and visit,   to advocate for Parity in insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders, without traveling to Washington.
There are bills in the U.S. House and in the U.S. Senate that address parity for mental health and addictive disorders.  The parity legislation in the House, H.R. 1424, is well thought out, well-worded and likely to be helpful in all of the ways that we want for our patients and our practices.  The legislation in the Senate, S. 558, is in the right direction, but would formalize in law the exclusive prerogative of insurers to develop  company-specific utilization criteria for types of treatment offered,    length of stay and the definition of diseases covered.  ASAM has been very active (and successful) in advocating for change in S. 558 as originally written, such as addressing language that would have preempted   current and future state law that is more protective of patients than the proposed federal law.  It is your willingness to become involved that has caused these changes.  Thanks for your efforts.  I will be very happy to expand on this with more specifics if you let me know.
I am writing now to ask for, to plead for, your PERSONAL ACTION.  While they are home for the August recess, PLEASE CONTACT your Representative in Congress and your two Senators.  (Call, try to speak  to them personally.  Ask to meet at their office or to attend a listening session they are having.  Invite them to visit your facility.) 

• Ask your Member of the House to vote for H.R. 1424; to cosponsor it if they support it; and to join the bipartisan    Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus established by the authors, Representative Ramstad (R-MN) and Kennedy (D-RI). 
• Ask your two Senators to support passage of S 558 by Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Domenici R-NM), with the caveat that you would like the Senate bill to state that the definition of diseases covered be the same as those diseases listed in the DSM-IV    and that criteria for treatment should be standardized across plans, transparent to both the insured individual and their employer, and developed by a consensus of payers, providers   and consumers.

Thanks for looking at this.  Getting in touch is easy.  You can find your Representative at http://www.house.gov/ and your Senator at http://www.senate.gov/.  If you can take the opportunity while they are   at home, the impact will be greater.  These bills will come to the floor next month!
Thanks,
Ken Roy, MD, FASAM   Chair,
ASAM Parity Action Group