Tuesday, April 26, 2005
NAMI News Alert
House to Consider Association Health Plan Legislation; Proposal Would Weaken State Mental Illness Insurance Parity Laws
April 25, 2005
Later this week the U.S. House of Representatives will consider legislation to vastly expand multi-employer Association Health Plans (AHPs) and undermine existing state laws that require health plans to cover treatment for mental illness on the same terms and conditions as all other illnesses -- commonly referred to as parity. This proposal (HR 525) would significantly expand the scope of a federal law (known as ERISA), that exempts self-insured employer health plans from state regulation. By expanding ERISA, HR 525 would encourage employers that currently offer health plans for their workers (and their families) to switch away from coverage that meets a parity standard, i.e. plans that cover mental illnesses the same as all other illnesses.
The AHPs envisioned by HR 525 would be exempt from all state insurance laws, including: state parity laws, minimum coverage standards for mental illness treatment and other consumer protections. The supporters of AHPs assert that HR 525 would help make employer coverage more affordable and ease the growth among the uninsured. However, several recent studies have found that AHPs are not effective in reaching uninsured workers and their families and are more likely to fail as a result of insolvency.
Action Requested
NAMI advocates are strongly encouraged to contact their House member to urge them to oppose HR 525. Remind your House member that this well-intentioned legislation would have enormous negative consequences for workers and their families. In NAMI's view, HR 525 would:
severely undermine the effectiveness of the 34 state mental illness insurance parity laws,
fail to address the problem of the uninsured -- studies demonstrate that most employers that would switch to AHP coverage already provide coverage on their own, and
place workers and their families at risk of losing coverage -- studies show that AHPs have a long history of plan failures and insolvency (AHPs would not have to meet current solvency and reserve standards enforced by state insurance commissioners).
Click on the following link to access a sample letter on this issue and a list of your representatives to contact now, click here.
All House members can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or online through www.congress.org.
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NAMI E-News Alerts are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service. With more than 200,000 members and 1,200 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online at www.nami.org/donate.
If you do not wish to receive further E-News Alerts, please click here, sign in and uncheck the box next to Enews. Please do not reply to this email (it will go to an unattended mailbox.) If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please send an email to elise@nami.org.
NAMI ~ 2107 Wilson Blvd. ~ Suite 300 ~ Arlington, VA 22201
April 25, 2005
Later this week the U.S. House of Representatives will consider legislation to vastly expand multi-employer Association Health Plans (AHPs) and undermine existing state laws that require health plans to cover treatment for mental illness on the same terms and conditions as all other illnesses -- commonly referred to as parity. This proposal (HR 525) would significantly expand the scope of a federal law (known as ERISA), that exempts self-insured employer health plans from state regulation. By expanding ERISA, HR 525 would encourage employers that currently offer health plans for their workers (and their families) to switch away from coverage that meets a parity standard, i.e. plans that cover mental illnesses the same as all other illnesses.
The AHPs envisioned by HR 525 would be exempt from all state insurance laws, including: state parity laws, minimum coverage standards for mental illness treatment and other consumer protections. The supporters of AHPs assert that HR 525 would help make employer coverage more affordable and ease the growth among the uninsured. However, several recent studies have found that AHPs are not effective in reaching uninsured workers and their families and are more likely to fail as a result of insolvency.
Action Requested
NAMI advocates are strongly encouraged to contact their House member to urge them to oppose HR 525. Remind your House member that this well-intentioned legislation would have enormous negative consequences for workers and their families. In NAMI's view, HR 525 would:
severely undermine the effectiveness of the 34 state mental illness insurance parity laws,
fail to address the problem of the uninsured -- studies demonstrate that most employers that would switch to AHP coverage already provide coverage on their own, and
place workers and their families at risk of losing coverage -- studies show that AHPs have a long history of plan failures and insolvency (AHPs would not have to meet current solvency and reserve standards enforced by state insurance commissioners).
Click on the following link to access a sample letter on this issue and a list of your representatives to contact now, click here.
All House members can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or online through www.congress.org.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAMI E-News Alerts are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service. With more than 200,000 members and 1,200 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online at www.nami.org/donate.
If you do not wish to receive further E-News Alerts, please click here, sign in and uncheck the box next to Enews. Please do not reply to this email (it will go to an unattended mailbox.) If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please send an email to elise@nami.org.
NAMI ~ 2107 Wilson Blvd. ~ Suite 300 ~ Arlington, VA 22201
