Pete Domenici: “I regret that it was not possible to retain this eminently fair and simple compromise in the conference agreement on…”

“I regret that it was not possible to retain this eminently fair and simple compromise in the conference agreement on health insurance reform. Though this attempt to create fundamental fairness for the mentally ill was not completed, this issue will not go away. The Americans who would have been helped by our compromise will not go away. Nor will I. As long as I am in this body, I will continue to fight to end discrimination against Americans with a mental illness. I am therefore introducing the compromise I offered the conference committee as a free-standing bill. The measure I am introducing today with the support and cosponsorship of Senators Wellstone, Warner, Specter, Reid, Simpson, and Conrad, is a vast departure from what the Senate originally passed during consideration of health insurance reform legislation. The Senate passed full parity for mental illness--full parity means that mental illnesses are treated as equals to physical illnesses in all respects of health coverage--copays, deductibles, inpatient hospital days, outpatient visits, out-of-pocket protections, and overall lifetime and annual expenditure limits. The measure I present today, however, covers parity only for lifetime and annual caps.”