On November 21, the Senate approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 1929) to reauthorize for one year the Mental Health Parity Act (P.L. 104-204), which was set to expire at the end of this year. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) sponsored the bill.
Enacted as part of the FY1997 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies spending bill, the law requires employer-provided health insurance plans to impose the same lifetime limits on mental health benefits as apply to medical and surgical benefits. If a health plan does not provide a lifetime limit on medical benefits, it may not impose one on mental health benefits. S. 1929 would extend the law through December 31, 2004.
