While the presidential candidates are battling it out over Big Healthcare Reform, there's a bill moving through Congress that could have huge impact on the healthcare of millions--especially on people with mental illness.

The short version: There are two "mental health parity" bills in Congress, both aimed at making insurers provide coverage for mental health conditions that's no less substantial than coverage for physical health conditions. (The link above is to an excellent rundown of the bills and the underlying politics by a Congressional Quarterly reporter.)

In one of those strange politics-makes-fitting-bedfellows situations, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) is author of the House bill, while his dad, Sen. Edward Kennedy, is shepherd of the Senate's version. The House version is more inclusive (and expensive) than the Senate version, and it's not clear whether the two chambers can reach a compromise. Business groups oppose the House version. 

Dueling soundbites:

 

"An insurance company will hospitalize you for a chemical imbalance called diabetes," but not necessarily a mental illness resulting from a chemical imbalance. "What sense does that make?" --Rep. Patrick Kennedy

 

 

The House bill is "mental health insanity"--from a comment on the website of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Here's a good roundup of the mental health parity legislation from a story in the New York Times.

As the New York Times article reports, the legislative debate is made all the more poignant by the fact that two co-sponsors of the House bill have mental illlness. The story states:

"I have a mental illness, and I am fortunately getting the best care this country has to offer because I am a member of Congress," said Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island and chief sponsor of the House bill. Mr. Kennedy has been treated for depression and drug dependence.

 

The main Republican sponsor, Representative Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, a recovering alcoholic, said, "I am living proof that treatment works and recovery is real."

Mental health parity has been an issue for a long time, with advocates gaining what they consider a partial victory in 1996 (with a guarantee of similar annual and lifetime dollar limits for both types of disease).

Whether there will be movement in Congress in an election year--and whether the two Kennedys can bring the chambers into agreement--remains to be seen.