Projo Blog had this notice today:

U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy will hold a hearing at the State House tomorrow morning on the topic of parity in insurance coverage for mental-health treatments.

Kennedy and U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, D-Minn., are the sponsors of a bill that would make it illegal for insurers to impose limits on the number of outpatient visits or inpatient days covered, or charge higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket limits, for mental health and addiction treatment than they do for other types of medical treatment.

They are traveling around the country to gather testimony to build momentum for the passage of this legislation, and to solicit comments on the bill’s contents. Rhode Island is the site of the first field hearing.

Tomorrow’s hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. in Room 313 at the State House with opening statements by Kennedy and Ramstad. The schedule is as follows:

— 9:40 a.m.: panel on “The Impact of Mental Health and Addiction,” featuring Joseph Amaral, president of Rhode Island Hospital; Rep. Elizabeth M. Dennigan; House Finance Chairman Steven M. Costantino; Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed; and Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman.

— 10:05 a.m.: panel on “The Case for Equal Treatment,” featuring Steve Rasmussen, chief medical officer at Butler Hospital, and others.

— 10:40 a.m.: panel on “Making Parity Laws Work,” featuring Stephen Farrell, CEO of United HealthCare of New England, Jim Purcell, CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and Mark Reynolds, CEO of Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.

— 11:05 a.m.: testimony from the general public.