Letter From American Psychiatric Association Responding to Federal Request for Information Regarding the Paul Wellstone & Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008

May 28, 2009 American Psychiatric Association (APA) medical director James H. Scully, Jr., M.D., responded to a federal request for information regarding the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAE2008). Dr. Scully urged the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury to require real-time monitoring of insurance coverage and management practices to ensure that the new law is implemented in a way that expands the availability of treatment for people with behavioral health issues. He called for a system where insurance plans have a combined deductible for all . . .