Rep. Kennedy Bill Guaranteeing Mental Health Care for Kids Passes Committee

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release:

Congressman Joe Kennedy III today applauded the bipartisan passage of his CHIP Mental Health Parity Act during the Energy and Commerce Committee's markup on opioid related legislation. With an estimated nearly half a million children and pregnant women currently lacking guaranteed mental health coverage under CHIP, Kennedy's bill would extend behavioral health parity protections to all beneficiaries of the program.

"For generations, our nation's failure to guarantee and enforce mental health parity has left families helpless as their loved ones suffer in silence. No child and no expecting mother should be denied care for their mental illness or substance use disorder because their insurer fails to treat behavioral health care the same as physical care. With the bipartisan support of my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee, we can now bring this legislation to the House Floor and continue our fight to make good on the simple promise of parity."

About the Children's Health Insurance Program:

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to eligible children, through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs. CHIP is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government.