A mental-health and addiction parity bill has passed the California Senate and Assembly and is now on the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger.

The bill, AB-423, was sponsored by Rep. Jim Beall, Jr. and would require health plans and insurers to cover behavioral-health problems on par with physical ailments. It was approved by the state Assembly in June and passed 27-12 in the Senate on Sept. 6.

The measure has the support of the California Department of Consumer Affairs' Board of Behavioral Sciences but is opposed by the state Department of Mental Health, which cited increased costs to insurers, health plans, and patients.

In a Sept. 4 letter to state mental-health commissioner Stephen Mayberg, Beall disputed assertions that parity would increase healthcare costs.

"The RAND Corporation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, California Health Benefits Review Program and numerous other academic institutions of distinction have provided hard data supporting the low cost of providing parity and more importantly, the enormous cost savings that results from treatment," wrote Beall. "Parity is necessary to avoid an even worse future for Californians who need mental-illness and substance-abuse treatment. It is the fiscally and morally correct thing to do. "

Beall also called on advocates to contact the governor and urge him to sign the bill. The measure would take effect Jan. 1, 2008 if signed by Schwarzenegger.