Advocates, lawmakers seek movement on federal parity bill.(Mental Health Parity Act updates and Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act)

With congressional elections pending and lawmakers not slated for return until later this year, mental health advocates still retain hope that long-awaited comprehensive mental health parity will soon become law. Parity sponsors have filed a "discharge petition" to force action on the bill.

In 1996, Congress passed the Mental Health Parity Act, which eliminated discriminatory annual and lifetime dollar limits for mental healthcare for companies with more than 50 employees. This law was designed to be in effect for six years; however, it fell short of full parity.

In 2003, Sens. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Reps. Patrick J. …