Columbus Dispatch: Parity for mental health? GOP now backing effort to widen insurance coverage

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Jim Siegel

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio Republican legislative leaders, reversing more than 15 years of opposition, said yesterday that they are ready to pass a bill requiring health-insurance plans to offer the same coverage for mental illnesses as they do for physical ailments.

House Speaker Jon A. Husted, RKettering, and Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, in the past had not shown much support for the measure, and Harris said he remains concerned about the potential cost to businesses.

But with just three weeks to go before the likely end of this General Assembly, and with a new Democratic governor waiting in the wings, GOP leaders said concerns have been neutralized enough to allow Ohio to become the 38 th state to enact the law, commonly known as mental-health parity.

It’s unknown whether Gov. Bob Taft would sign the bill, but proponents are encouraged by the change of heart among Republican lawmakers.

"I am very pleased that they changed their position," said Rep. Jon Peterson, a Delaware Republican and sponsor of the parity bill in the House. "The fact that leadership is supporting the issue now says we have moved past the tip- ping point."

Supporters argue that it’s unfair and discriminatory for many health-insurance plans to offer less coverage for a mental illness such as schizophrenia than a physical ailment such as Parkinson’s disease, though each is related to unusual levels of dopamine in the brain.

But business and insurance opposition has been strong. Republican legislative leaders, dating back years before Husted and Harris came to power, have blocked the bill.

In recent years, many thought a majority of House and Senate members would vote for it if given the chance. A Dispatch survey of lawmakers this summer found that 63 percent supported the bill.

Yesterday, Sen. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee, said that while he’s not a fan of the bill, there are enough votes to pass it out of committee. He said he was waiting for the go-ahead from Harris.

Less than two hours later, Harris said, "If the committee (next week) has the votes to pass it, I expect it to pass out of the committee and have it on the floor."

Still unknown is whether Taft would approve the bill; for three years he has threatened to veto insurance-mandate bills.

Harris and Husted said yesterday that they thought Taft, a Republican, could now support mental-health parity, and Husted even said Taft had sent him a letter a few months ago indicating that fact.

But Taft spokesman Mark Rickel said the office doesn’t recall such a letter.

"We have not been made aware that the concerns of the business community have been addressed," he said. "The governor’s position has not changed."

Harris said he now supports the bill but still doesn’t like that it fails to affect larger, self-insured employers who, under federal law, are exempt from state insurance mandates. He also worries that cost increases could force some small businesses to drop health insurance, though the bill provides an opt-out provision if costs increase more than 1 percent.

"The only way we find that out is to pass it, and if it does, we’ll have to address it in the future," he said.

Each chamber has identical bills, though House officials said they expect the Senate to make the first move. The House passed the same bill in February 2004, but it died in the Senate when the session ended on Dec. 31 of that year.

Peterson and Sen. Robert F. Spada, R-North Royalton, reintroduced the bill in 2005. Spada’s son, James, a senior credit analyst with Bank of America, testified yesterday about his success despite being bipolar.

"Success and mental illness can go together, if given the correct amount of attention, support and care," James Spada told a Senate committee.

Health insurance for state employees already includes equal mental-health coverage.

Husted, who voted against mental-health parity in 2004, said yesterday that advocates spent time explaining the real financial effect of the bill.

"I’ve had several conversations on this and I felt that we had been able to allay some concerns and some of the business objections to this," he said. "If those hold, there is something we can pass this year."

Small-business owners continue to argue that another insurance mandate would drive up already high health-care costs. They also say the proposal is unfair because it does not apply to all companies.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses/Ohio estimates the bill would affect coverage offered to about onethird of Ohio workers.

"This unconscionable bill targets the small-business community when health insurance has been the No. 1 concern since 1986," said Ty Pine, state director for the federation.

Pine has offered Senate leaders a list of changes for the bill, but Stivers said they would either gut the bill or make it unaffordable for the state. However, he said, changes to the bill are possible.

Gov.-elect Ted Strickland, a former prison psychologist, strongly supports the measure.

"This is an issue that I have been concerned about for decades, and I’m interested in watching what the legislature chooses to do," he said.

Dispatch reporter Mark Niquette contributed to this story.

jsiegel@dispatch.com