Mental Health Bill Stalls

Congress approved legislation Tuesday that would require private insurers to provide the same level of benefits for mental illness as they do for physical maladies, a change lauded by advocates as a great shift in the nation's understanding of mental health.

"We've always had a stigma, sort of like mental illness is a character flaw," said Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and co-sponsored the House version with Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., a recovering alcoholic.

"But now science has moved forward, and we can see the complexities in the brain that lead to eating disorders, compulsive disorders. All these connections are being made, the science is just becoming so firm. And it destroys the myth that this stuff is a choice."

The measure has received strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate and has the backing of business, insurance companies, health advocates, the medical community and the White House. But its passage into law was not ensured Tuesday night.

The remaining obstacle appeared to be ironing out differences in how to pay the cost to the federal government - estimated at $3.4 billion over 10 years, in the form of foregone tax revenue.

Lawmakers also needed to resolve whether the final bill should be a standalone measure or part of a larger package of legislation.

The House approved the language in a standalone bill, while the Senate wrapped it into a $150 billion package of popular tax cuts.

It is unclear whether a joint agreement can be reached in the few days remaining before Congress recesses.

"The Senate has devolved to the point where almost nothing is moving now," one senior Senate staffer member said. Lobbyists for health care and industry and Capitol Hill staff members say now is the best moment for the bill to be passed.

"We've come so very, very far," said Andrew Sperling, legislative affairs director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "We are in a whole world of trouble if we don't get this done."