Congress cleared legislation (H.R. 5716) to reauthorize for one year the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-204), which was set to expire at the end of this year. Both the House and Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent on November 15.
Enacted as part of the FY1997 Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, the law requires insurers that offer mental health coverage to set similar limits on annual and lifetime coverage for mental and physical illnesses. H.R. 5716 extends the law through December 31, 2003.
