Bob Wise: “I rise in favor of this motion to instruct on all three provisions, which I think are vital; but, if I could speak to…”

“I rise in favor of this motion to instruct on all three provisions, which I think are vital; but, if I could speak to the one dealing with mental health parity, I think this is crucial legislation. Let me give the Members some examples why. Currently many insurance policies have lifetime caps of $1 million for various diseases: cancer, heart, et cetera. However, the lifetime limits for mental illness are often set at $50,000 or less; $1 million here, $50,000 here. Additionally, insurance plans impose annual caps of sometimes $10,000 or less on treatments of mental illness, but these caps are usually not imposed on other medical conditions. What happens then is that these limits on mental illness cause individuals not to seek the treatment or to pay out of pocket. They must rely on public mental health facilities, or if they can afford it, to pay themselves. This is important language because, while we were not able to get parity in the health reform legislation that passed this year, we do have a chance at limited parity this year. I would urge my colleagues to support that. Mr. Speaker, are there good reasons why? Let me give the Members some statistics why this is so important. Mental illnesses and disorders cost our society over $270 billion annually each year in lost productivity and treatment costs.”