Mental-health parity advocates set up camp at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday to demand equal insurance coverage for mental illness.

After an outdoor news conference with Reps. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., sponsors of a bill that would require health insurers to cover mental illness in the same way as physical illness, advocates set up a headquarters in a Senate office building from which they organized lobbying visits and phone calls.

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act would prohibit insurers from imposing higher co-payments and deductibles on beneficiaries for mental healthcare.

The bill is named after the late Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota who was the bill's original sponsor.

"This is a public health crisis that in some way impacts every family in America. It's time to break down the barriers to good mental health and addiction treatment," Kennedy said.

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