Insurers feel heat on mental-illness coverage

Insurers feel heat on mental-illness coverage: "Why should insurance companies be allowed to treat mental illnesses any differently from physical illnesses? They shouldn’t. And some members of Congress want to do something about it. 'This is an issue of civil rights at its core,' said U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy . . . . Kennedy, along with Minnesota Republican Rep. Jim Ramsted, plan next week to introduce the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Act, named for the late Minnesota Democrat who made mental illness one of his signature issues. The bill would amend the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 by requiring group health insurers to offer identical benefits for mental and physical illnesses. It would close loopholes that allow insurers to charge higher co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket limits and impose lower day and visit limits on those seeking care for mental illnesses or addictions. "