Daniel Inouye: “when we in the Senate unanimously passed the health insurance reform bill in April, we included an amendment offered by…”

“when we in the Senate unanimously passed the health insurance reform bill in April, we included an amendment offered by Senators Domenici and Wellstone that provided for parity coverage for mental health services. I was proud of our vote. We did the right thing by ensuring that persons who suffer mental illness are treated fairly by insurance companies. The conferees stripped the Domenici-Wellstone amendment out of the bill. However, by our April vote, this Chamber made a commitment to fairness in insurance coverage for persons with mental illness. The health insurance reform bill is about fairness. Just as the bill now prevents insurers from dropping people's coverage when they change jobs or for other reasons, the bill should also have prevented insurers from discriminating against persons suffering mental illness. Leaving the Domenici-Wellstone mental health parity amendment out of the bill is wrong. I know that the business and insurance communities raised some concerns about the cost and impact of the Domenici-Wellstone amendment with the conferees. I also know that Senators Domenici and Wellstone answered every concern raised. While I view the CBO estimate for the cost of the original amendment as extremely reasonable, I understand that Senators Domenici and Wellstone offered a compromise to the conferees that would have provided parity coverage only for annual and lifetime caps. This compromise slashed the cost of the original amendment by 90 percent.”