Date

Your Senator's Name
Mailing Address
Mailing Address

Re: in Support of Bill S. 2089

Dear Senator (your Senator's name here):

As a consumer of mental health services,
-or-
As the friend (relative) of a consumer of mental health services,

and as your constituent, I am writing to ask your support of a bill that will provide parity for mental health services in our State. As you know, The NY State Assembly unanimously passed A. 6235 (Brennan et al.), which calls for all insurance companies that provide mental health insurance coverage to provide for parity of mental health benefits compared to coverage for other medical illnesses.

Most insurance companies impose annual limits on the number of inpatient days and outpatient visits covered for the treatment of mental illness (typically 30 or less inpatient days and 20 or less outpatient visits). They often impose higher co-payments, deductibles and co-insurance requirements for treatment of mental illnesses than they require for treatment of other medical illnesses. Many plans also impose annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental illness treatment that are not applied to coverage for other conditions. Removal of these arbitrary and discriminatory limitations is required to assure that persons with mental illness can access medically necessary care. Thirty-one states have passed meaningful parity legislation ahead of New York. This is an issue the voters overwhelmingly support, and healthcare issues will be among the major issues we voters consider in the fall.

Senator Thomas Libous has sponsored a similar measure, S.2089 in the Senate. The near unanimous support of this bill by the Long Island Senators is greatly appreciated. I ask that you actively support passage of this bill, and urge Senate Leadership to pursue passage of this legislation. Specifically, I request that you send a copy of this letter to Senator Bruno, and forward your own letter to him, urging passage of this legislation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Your Name