I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici was packing his bags for New Mexico this morning, while still fielding calls from House leaders requesting help to persuade skeptics of the Senate’s economic bailout package. His major concern — that the nation be able to make “money flow again” — extended as well to a mental-health parity addition he and Senate leaders attached to both acclaim and criticism.
The mandate that insurers treat mental illnesses the same as any other physical ailment has been a long-fought desire of the state’s 36-year senior senator, who is ending his term due to a degenerative brain disease. The House is scheduled to vote at 2 p.m. EST, but Capitol Hill murmurs already hint at a post-election lame-duck session.
“They’re still calling around, so it makes me wonder,” Domenici said of House leaders in an interview with the New Mexico Independent today. “I thought they had it taken care of.
“We still haven’t gotten (U.S. Rep. Steve) Pearce convinced. That’s bad.”
Pearce, a Republican, is running against Democrat Tom Udall to succeed Domenici. Both voted against the House’s earlier bailout bill, which did not contain the mental-health parity provision or energy incentives added by the Senate.
Domenici declined to call the effort a “last gasp,” joking that he’s breathing fine. But he did acknowledge that gaining approval for the provision could appear to require that members “cripple it through.”
Lauded by The New York Times as “sound and fair-minded,” the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act has nevertheless been criticized as a potential insurance-buster, a sweetener to persuade balky House members and a “quirky procedural twist.”
Because many insurance plans already include parity, Domenici downplayed fears of demanding it at a time when the costs for such plans are escalating.
“Most insurers were present at the table,” he said. “They liked it. Many of them already offer it. We’re just guaranteeing it for the future.”
Domenici has first-hand experience with the ravages of mental illness and the hurdles to getting proper care. One of his daughters has a form of schizophrenia and, after bringing her problems to light, he encountered countless people whose families walked the same road.
“I’ve gotten more credit than I deserve for this bill,” he said. “People stop me more on this bill than any other initiative — `You’re the senator who wants mental health parity.’
“Having mental illness in families is still not an open issue. We’re embarrassed about it. You don’t know until you ask people about it. But it’s everywhere. Rich people. Poor people. Black people. Hispanics.”
By providing insurance coverage, Domenici said he hopes that the current, limited research and treatment options for mental-health care will increase the same way they did when Congress required coverage for heart conditions. If so, he said, “It won’t be a trauma to the health costs.”
Year by year, the bill has gained more congressional acceptance. Different versions passed both chambers this year, with lingering concerns over its potential $3.8 billion cost over five years. With the $800 billion rescue package, the Politico’s David Rogers said that issue appears to no longer be a stumbling block.
Besides the late Sen. Wellstone, a Democrat, Domenici has worked closely with Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy on the bill. In August, Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd said at the inaugural Domenici Public Policy Conference at New Mexico State University that the bill should pass as a tribute to both Domenici and Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer.
“I don’t think any bill should be passed as a tribute to any senator singularly,” Domenici said. “This is a tribute to the country. It adds to the American character.”
