Senate Bill 558, the Mental Health Parity Act, which provides coverage parity for mental health and substance-related disorders along with medical and surgical benefits in large group health plans, was passed by the United States Senate on September 18.
The bill would also prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in large group health plans that are not imposed on medical and surgical benefits.
In the United States House of Representatives, there are three different version of the bill. The three versions of the House bill must now be reconciled before it can be voted on by the full House.