Would someone please confirm the status of Senate Amendment 2020 to H.R. 3061?
Thank You, Piper Creations http://ThePiedPiper.tripod.com/
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Your Help is Still Needed Urgently!
ALERT CONGRESS TO VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 2020
Very well done to all of you who have been helping on the campaign to vote down mental health parity. Please continue! You can email on this issue every day, telling members to vote no on parity. I will have an update on the status of the amendment for you on Monday evening or Tuesday morning.
Please write to members of Congress listed below, telling them to vote no on Senate Amendment 2020 to H.R. 3061 (this is the Senate’s amendment to House Resolution # 3061). Get others to do the same. This is amendment, if passed, would make it mandatory to cover psychiatric services on an equal basis as medical services in any health insurance policy. The members listed below are the leadership and committee members that will be voting on the amendment.
Further data: On October 30, 2001 the U. S. Senate passed a parity amendment (No. 2020) by adding it to the spending bill for Labor, Human Services and Education. The legislation is virtually identical to S. 543 The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act. It forces businesses that offer mental health insurance coverage to cover mental health equally in all ways with ordinary medical coverage.
There is no limit on rising insurance premiums in this amendment, so no matter how much the mental health coverage increased costs, businesses could not refuse to pay it. This parity amendment forces coverage for all the "disorders" listed in The American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic And Statistical Manual For Mental Disorders.”
The mental health parity amendment is Senate Amendment 2020 to H.R. 3061 - the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Eucation Appropriations bill. It passed the House, went to the Senate where it was amended and now the differences must be reconciled in the upcoming conference committee. We need to ensure that this parity amendment is voted out of the 2002 Labor, Human Services and Education spending bill while it is in the Conference Committee.
A decision could be made on this at any time. So, send out your e-mails and make your calls right away and continue these daily until you know that the bill has been rejected.
The following messages are recommended, (to be put in your own words):
I am strongly opposed to any increase in mental health parity because:
a) I don’t want any increased costs for our businesses or employees because of mental health. I don’t want to pay for more mental health coverage, mine or anyone elses.
b) The government can’t afford to pay for this amendment and yet they are trying to force businesses to cover it with 23 billion dollars in the next 5 years. In the wake of the terrorist attacks and continuing threats, businesses are wrestling with a slowing economy, falling stock markets and a soaring number of layoffs, this is not the time to be burdening businesses with increased mental health insurance costs.
c) Some of us can’t afford to pay for health insurance now; this amendment will only create more uninsured.
d) I don’t want to give the mental health industry a blank check to cover their so-called “disorders” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual like “Caffeine Related Disorder”, “Mathematics Disorder” and “Disorder of Written Expression.” There is no science or medical “parity” with these “disorders.” This will make premiums go up, as it has in the past, and health insurance is already too expensive.
Call or email the Senators and Representatives listed below. Tell them to vote no on Amendment 2020 (mental health parity)
List of House and Senate leadership to email or call:
*House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
in Illinois - 603-406-1114 Fax (630) 406-1808
House Majority Leader Dick Armey - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
in Texas 972-556-2500
Tom Delay - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
in Texas 281-240-3700 Fax 281-240-2959
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle – [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
in DC 202-224-6253
Appropriations Committee members and Sub-Committee members who also need to get your email:
Senate:*Robert Byrd (D-WV), Chairman of Senate Appropriations, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Arlen Specter (R-PA) Ranking member, 202-224-4254 in Pennsylvania at 215-597-7200
Tom Harkin, (D-IA) Sub-Committee Chairman, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thad Cochran (R-MS) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Larry Craig (R-ID) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mike DeWine (R-OH) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Judd Gregg (R-NH) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ernest Hollings (D-SC) - 202-225-6121 or in south Carolina at 803-765-5731
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Daniel Inouye (D-HI) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Herb Kohl (D-WI) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mary Landrieu (D-LA) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Patty Murray (D-WA) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Harry Reid (D-NV) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ted Stevens (R-AK) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
House:C.W. "Bill" Young (R-FL) Chairman of House Appropriations [EMAIL PROTECTED] (727) 893-3191
Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), 202-225-5452 or in California at 760-737-8438
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) - 202-225-3661 or New Haven, CT 203- 562-3718
Kay Granger (R-TX) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) - 202-225-4131 or in Maryland at 310-474-0119 or 301-843-1577
Ernest Istook (R-OK) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Jesse Jackson, Jr.(D-IL) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Nita Lowey, (D-NY) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dan Miller (R-FL) - 202-225-5015 or in Florida at 941-951-6643 or 941-747-9081
Anne M. Northup (R-KY) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
David Obey (D-WI) -202-225-3365 or in Wisconsin at 715-842-5606 or 715-398-4426
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
John Peterson (R-PA) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ralph Regula (R-OH) - 202-225-3876 or in Ohio at 330-489-4414
Don Sherwood (R-PA) - 202-225-3731 or in Pennsylvania at 570-346-3834 or 570-327-8161
Roger Wicker (R-MS) - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
You can reach all the House and Senate offices by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Many House and Senate offices are closed and phone operations are somewhat disrupted, but all in the individual States the district offices of Representatives and Senators are open.
You can find the phone number of your district office for your U. S. Senator and Representatives listed in the Federal Government sections of the "Blue Pages" in your local phone books.
VERY IMPORTANT: Let me know that you have emailed/called. You can do this by emailing me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Or call me at 800-869-2247. Thank you so much for your help!
Sincerely,
June Parks
