– Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) released the following statement on the recently issued rules by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury to ensure equal treatment for Americans in need of mental health or substance use disorder treatment: 

“I applaud the recent announcement of new rules for the treatment of mental health and substance abuse disorders,” said Congressman Henry Cuellar. “I have long supported measures to ensure our health care system treats the entire person, body and mind included. I voted in support of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act to prevent insurance companies from limiting access to mental health and substance use disorder care. These rules help expand those protections to millions of Americans. This announcement signifies a victory in the fight for equal health care treatment and I will continue to work towards breaking down barriers that stand in the way of treatment and recovery services for Americans.”

The newly issued rules implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires health insurance to cover both mental and physical health equally and no longer allows insurance companies to limit the number of hospital days or outpatient treatment sessions, or assign higher co-payments or deductibles for those in need of psychological services.

The announcement is available on the Department of Health and Human Services website: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/11/20131108b.html