Time for Recovery and Equal Access to Treatment in America (TREAT America) Act of 2005

The Time for Recovery and Equal Access to Treatment in America (TREAT America) Act of 2005 (H.R. 1258) was designed to ensure that health insurance plans cover substance abuse treatment at the same level as medical and surgical care. Under this bill, insurance companies would be prohibited from imposing stricter financial requirements—such as higher co-pays or deductibles—or more restrictive treatment limits on addiction services than they do for other physical health conditions.

For the average citizen, this legislation aimed to make recovery services more affordable and accessible by preventing "disparity" in how mental health and addiction are treated by insurers. However, the bill included exemptions for small businesses and allowed plans to opt out if the requirements caused their total costs to increase by 1% or more. While this specific bill did not become law, its core principles contributed to the eventual passage of broader mental health parity legislation in later years.