From Bloomberg… Mental Health Coverage Expanded by Rescue Package (Update2) By Aliza Marcus Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) — Health insurers that provide mental- health benefits will be barred from providing less coverage than they do for other medical services under the $700 billion financial-markets rescue package approved by Congress. The plan was backed by a 263-171 vote in the House of Representatives today and signed by President George W. Bush. The package incorporates a measure requiring so-called mental health parity for health plans enrolling more than 50 employees. “Aren’t we all pleased across America that this legislation includes the mental health parity act?” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said…

This is an editorial from the NY Times… October 1, 2008 Editorial Oh So Close to Mental Health Parity Congress is within a whisker of passing a sound and fair-minded bill to require that group health insurance coverage for mental illness and substance abuse be provided on the same terms as coverage for physical illnesses. It would be a shame if the legislation, which caps more than a decade of struggle to achieve mental health parity in insurance coverage, were allowed to die while Congressional energies are focused on the all-consuming economic crisis. The bill would not require employers or health plans to cover mental illness or drug or alcohol…