"After many long years of effort, ACA and other mental health advocates have gained the enactment of strong federal mental health and addictive disorder parity legislation. On Friday, October 3rd, the House of Representatives passed a financial rescue and tax policy bill, including landmark mental health and addictive disorder parity protections.
The section of the legislation on parity--entitled the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008--will require most private sector health plans to provide insurance coverage for mental and addictive disorder services on the same terms and conditions as other types of care. The parity provisions had been included in a package of highly popular tax policy extensions approved recently by wide margins in both the House and Senate, but that had been stalled due to disagreements over the extent to which they should be paid for. The tax extenders, including the parity language, were combined with the financial rescue package passed by the Senate on Wednesday."
If you are suffering in these turbulent times, PLEASE don't hesitate to seek help from a licensed, qualified therapist. We are all working on our coping skills right now. If you have no idea where to start, always begin by taking care of yourself, then reaching out to others.
You'll find practical steps for dealing with adversity in my booklet, "Building Resiliency: 68 Coping Strategies for Surviving & Thriving During Adversity."
