Legislative Information
Lifelines Foundation for Eating Disorders has taken an active role in the legislative bills that have been introduced in the Texas House in the 79th Legislative Session. Representative Garnet Coleman has once again taken up the issue of eating disorders with the introduction of HB (House Bill) 1786, a mental health parity bill. Representative Garnet Coleman has championed this bill in two previous legislative sessions, we ask you to take the time to contact your Representatives serving on the House Committee on Insurance to express your personal stories and/or your support of House Bill 1786. Representative Patrick Rose has introduced House Bill 1669, which would also cover eating disorders with the same parity as any physical illness covered by an insurance carrier.
The corresponding bill to HB 1786 in the Senate was introduced by Senator Van de Putt and is Senate Bill 1782 classifying anorexia and bulimia as a severe mental illness requiring coverage by insurance companies offering mental illness coverage.
It is our responsibility to notify our elected officials of the pressing need to get these bills passed not only in the House but also in the Senate. Your action could change the tide in getting these bills passed and into law. Lifelines Foundation sincerely requests your continued and persistent contact with your elected officials. To learn more about these bills please visit the Texas Legislature web site and look up each individual bill for the complete text.
Legislative Updates
Bills are introduced by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The numbers they are assigned when introduced indicate whether they are a House bill (H.R.) or a Senate bill (S.) and the order in which they were introduced. For example, H.R. 873 was the 873rd bill introduced into the House of Representatives during the 108th Congress (2002-2004). To learn about the status of bills that interests you, log on to Thomas (http://Thomas.loc.GOV), a legislative search engine of the Library of Congress
U.S. Senate
The Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act (S. 486)
The Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act' or the "IMPACT Act" (S. 1172)
U.S. House of Representatives
The Eating Disorders Awareness, Education, and Prevention Act of 2003(H.R. 873)
The Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act (H.R. 953)
