DHHS, PSC, DAM, GAB, Room 5-101, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857

R -- EFFECTS OF COLORADO'S PARITY LAW SOL 99M005949 POC Nora V. Tyson, Contract Specialist 301-443-8826, Joe Pirrone Contracting Officers 301-443-8826 WEB: Program Support Center, Program Support Center. E-MAIL: Program Support Center, ntyson@psc.gov. The Center for Mental Health Services/SAMHSA through the Program Support Center, General Acquisitions Branch, plans to award a sole source simplified acquisition to, Millman & Robertson, Inc. The period of performance is 12 months. The issue of parity between mental health and medical/surgical insurance benefits is a high priority research topic at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA.) The federal Mental Health Parity Act went into effect in January 1998. Under the Act, group health plans providing both medical/surgical and mental health benefits may not impose a lifetime of annual dollar limit on mental health benefits that is less than that applied to its medical/surgical benefits. This law, which only provides partial parity, expires on September 30, 2001. Among states, more than a dozen have passed some type of a MH/SA parity mandate. The objective of this project is to obtain information on the effects of Colorado's MH parity law. This data covers the 1996-97 pre-parity period and the 1998-99 post-parity period. The contractor shall analyze the database and collect related information to produce the statistics and measures addressing project questions. The contractor shall submit an interim report covering the 1996-1997 pre-parity period and the 1998 post-parity period, including tables, statistics, detailed summary of findings, qualifications for interpretation of statistics, and explanations of any anomalies. The anticipated award date is August 19, 1999. No solicitation shall be available. Posted 07/30/99 (W-SN361135). (0211)

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