Insight Matters
Winter 2005

Parity Bill Dies in the Senate

As reported in the last issue of Insight Matters, House Bill 225 - Ohio's Mental Health Parity bill - received significant attention by lawmakers in the final days of Ohio's 125th General Assembly. The parity legislation (passed by the House in Feb. of 2005) that would require health insurers to provide the same coverage for mental health services as for physical ailments had, what appeared to be, enough votes in the Senate to pass. However, in the face of a continued veto threat from the Governor, Senate President Doug White adjourned the Senate without allowing for a vote on the parity bill.

Advocates for mental health parity, including the OPA and other members of the Coalition for Healthy Communities, will remain vigilant in working with lawmakers in the new General Assembly to continue the hard work of Rep. Lynn Olman, who left the legislature due to term limits, to finally end the discrimination that exists for persons with mental illness.

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