H.R. 1402: Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005

109th Congress · introduced 2005-03-17 · Health · Latest: Motion to Discharge Committee filed by Mr. Kennedy (RI). Petition No: 109-18. (<a href="http://clerk.house.gov/109/lrc/pd/Petitions/Dis18.htm">Discharge petition</a> text with signatures.)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2005-03-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Kennedy, Patrick J. [D-RI-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Motion to Discharge Committee filed by Mr. Kennedy (RI). Petition No: 109-18. (<a href="http://clerk.house.gov/109/lrc/pd/Petitions/Dis18.htm">Discharge petition</a> text with signatures.) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005

Plain summary

Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan or group health coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the mental health benefits unless comparable limitations or requirements are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Excludes such requirements for plans and coverage for small employers. Allows a plan or coverage that provides in-network mental health benefits to provide out-of-network mental health benefits using treatment limitations or financial requirements that are not comparable to those applied to medical-surgical benefits if the in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and with reasonable access. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) study the effects of this Act on health insurance costs and access and quality of health care; and (2) provide a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Patrick J. [D-RI-1] · 231 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), James P. McGovern (D-MA) and 171 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109hr1402.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/hr>

Record fed-us-cong109-hr1402 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109