Kudos to Kennedy
In recent weeks, I, and many other political bloggers, have given a lot of well-deserved props to our junior Senator from Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse. Our entire state is very lucky to have Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse doing such good work on our behalf in Washington, D.C. Yet my family is also blessed to live in the congressional distict represented by Patrick Kennedy. For such a young man, Patrick Kennedy already has a considerable record of achievement on a number of different policy issues. In my eyes, though, he has shown the most courageous leadership in the area of healthcare. By publicly discussing how the great challenges his own struggle with bipolar disorder (a policy of candor he adopted long before his recent, unfortunate car crash) have affected his own life, he's won some credibility for his cause of improving treatment, and expanding options, for those afflicted with mental illness.
So kudos to Kennedy, here's hoping for a successful outcome for his legislative initiative!
Mental-health parity bill moves forward
01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, October 17, 2007
By John E. MulliganJournal Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — On a strong bipartisan vote in committee, U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy’s bill to improve medical coverage of mental illness was cleared for full House action as early as the end of this month.
On a 32-to-13 vote, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed the legislation, which would require insurers to cover mental illness and alcohol and drug abuse on the same footing as they cover other ailments.
The panel defeated a series of Republican amendments generally aimed at bringing the bill closer to the Senate-passed version, which is less specific in its instructions to the medical business about how to achieve “parity” of insurance coverage between mental illness and physical illness.
01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, October 17, 2007
By John E. MulliganJournal Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — On a strong bipartisan vote in committee, U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy’s bill to improve medical coverage of mental illness was cleared for full House action as early as the end of this month.
On a 32-to-13 vote, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed the legislation, which would require insurers to cover mental illness and alcohol and drug abuse on the same footing as they cover other ailments.
The panel defeated a series of Republican amendments generally aimed at bringing the bill closer to the Senate-passed version, which is less specific in its instructions to the medical business about how to achieve “parity” of insurance coverage between mental illness and physical illness.
“I’m just thrilled about how this thing is going,” Representative Kennedy said during a break in yesterday’s debate — the sixth such legislative drafting session in a series of House committees and subcommittees that share jurisdiction over medical insurance issues.
Kennedy said the votes against Republican amendments inspired by the Senate bill “put us in a really strong position going into conference,” meaning the House-Senate legislative panel that would work out a compromise between the conflicting versions of the measure.
Republicans warned, however, that the Patrick Kennedy bill, coauthored by Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., would drive up costs and drive insurance companies away from mental-health coverage, frustrating the intent of the bill.
Kennedy said the votes against Republican amendments inspired by the Senate bill “put us in a really strong position going into conference,” meaning the House-Senate legislative panel that would work out a compromise between the conflicting versions of the measure.
Republicans warned, however, that the Patrick Kennedy bill, coauthored by Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., would drive up costs and drive insurance companies away from mental-health coverage, frustrating the intent of the bill.
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