Eliot Engel: “Mental health benefits should not be a second thought; mental health benefits must be on a par with any other benefits…”

“Mental health benefits should not be a second thought; mental health benefits must be on a par with any other benefits that we offer in any final bill that passes this legislature. It ought not to be phased in years from now; it ought not to be financed at a lesser level than any other ailment. Mental health needs to have parity because we do have problems. Mental health is a serious problem. I would find it hard to support any bill that does not treat mental health like any other illness in our mental health bill or any bill that we pass. It is important to have universal coverage, it is important to eliminate preexisting conditions, it is important to do all the things the President wants to do, but we must make sure mental health is part of the final package.”