Gov. Christine Gregoire signs mental-health parity bill into law; proclaims a giant leap forward in health care for Washington citizens

For Immediate Release: March 9, 2005

Gov. Christine Gregoire today signed into law Substitute House Bill 1154 relating to mental-health parity and Substitute House Bill 1014 relating to DNA testing.

SHB 1154 will treat mental illnesses with the same attention of other ailments of the body. The legislation would phase in requirements that allow the same amounts and terms of coverage for mental-health services that are provided for other medical services. Employers with 50 or fewer employees would be exempt from mandatory parity coverage.

�I�m pleased to be here today to sign bill 1154 that truly represents a giant leap forward in the health care of Washington citizens,� Gov. Gregoire said. �An attitude lingers in society that mental health is somehow less worthy of our help. The burden of mental illness is compounded by the financial strains it can bring to families.

�In that regard, when we fail to treat mental illnesses with the same attention we treat other illnesses of the body, it costs everybody in numerous ways � from lost productivity in the workplace to more strain on our social services safety net. This bill addresses the problems directly.�

In 1999, the Surgeon General estimated the direct business cost of a lack of mental health parity was at least $70 billion per year. The cost to businesses of absenteeism, lost productivity, and claims for disability and unemployment insurance due to untreated mental illness is greater than the cost of mental health parity.

Mental health parity is already provided to nine million employees of the federal government and voluntarily to employees of corporations such as American Airlines, Ben Bridge, Boeing, Microsoft and Pepsico.

Set to begin January 2006, a health-benefit plan that provides coverage for medical and surgical services must provide coverage for mental-health services and prescription drugs to treat mental disorders. The co-pay or co-insurance for mental-health services may be no more than the co-pay or co-insurance for medical and surgical services otherwise provided under the plan. Mental-health drugs must be covered to the same extent, and under the same terms and conditions, as other prescription drugs covered by the plan.

In the years that follow, the bill provides that further steps will be taken to assure that mental-health services are comparable to health services provided for other health problems.

Sen. Pat Thibaudeau, D-Seattle, and Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, were the prime-sponsors of the bill. The Washington Coalition for Insurance Parity has lobbied for this legislation since 1998.

Gov. Gregoire also signed SHB 1014, which allows any convicted felon to request DNA testing after Dec. 31, 2004.

The basis for the DNA-testing request is expanded to allow for the testing if it would be significantly more accurate than prior DNA testing or would provide significant new information.

Rep. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, was the prime-sponsor of the bill.