Patrick Kennedy says personal struggles help him in Congress
By ANDREW MIGA
Associated Press
April 16, 2008
Page 2 of 2
''I am so glad my dad is there with me at the table, because if there's anybody who knows how to work with Republicans and can work as good a deal as possible to try to break this free ... it's my dad,'' he said.
The House bill says that if a plan provides mental health benefits, it must cover mental illnesses and addiction disorders listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used by mental health professionals.
That bill, the ''Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007,'' was named for the late Minnesota Democratic senator who championed the issue for years and who was killed in a 2002 plane crash. It was sponsored by Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., a recovering alcoholic who is Kennedy's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.
Kennedy said the bill favored by his father does not go far enough in providing coverage for people who need it. The Senate bill gives insurers more leeway on the types of mental disorders they would have to cover. It was a compromise reached after negotiations with businesses, the insurance industry and mental health advocates. Business and insurance groups had fought previous versions, arguing the proposals would drive up insurance costs.
Senator Kennedy, along with GOP Sens. Pete Domenici of New Mexico and Mike Enzi of Wyoming, sponsored the Senate bill.
The White House has said it favors the Senate bill because it addresses the need to treat mental illnesses with the same urgency as physical illnesses, but wouldn't significantly raise health care costs.
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