text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Elgin Stafford Mental Illness 
  Information Disclosure Act of 2012'' or ``Elgin's Law''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds the following:
              (1) Mental illness is the leading cause of disability, as 
          reflected in lost years of productive life, in North America, 
          in Europe, and, increasingly, in the world. By 2020, major 
          depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in 
          the world for women and children.
              (2) Mental illnesses strike individuals in the prime of 
          their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All 
          ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially 
          vulnerable.
              (3) Without treatment, the consequences of mental illness 
          for the individual and society are staggering, including 
          unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, 
          homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide, wasted 
          lives, and an economic cost of more than $100 billion each year 
          in the United States.
              (4) The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today 
          are highly effective so that between 70 and 90 percent of 
          individuals with serious mental illness have significant 
          reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a 
          combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and 
          supports.
              (5) Since early identification and treatment is of vital 
          importance in treating mental illness, especially for children 
          and young adults, the active, knowledgeable, and sympathetic 
          involvement of parents and legal guardians is to be encouraged 
          to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with generally 
          accepted and established clinical practice.
  
  SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE TO PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS OF MENTAL ILLNESS 
                TREATMENT OF CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 26.
  
      (a) In General.--In the case of a covered individual (as defined in 
  subsection (e)(1)) who is being treated for mental illness by a health 
  care professional, subject to subsection (b), the health care 
  professional shall disclose to a parent (if any) of the individual such 
  information regarding the mental illness and treatment for mental 
  illness as may be useful for the appropriate involvement of the parent 
  with respect to the treatment.
      (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply in such exceptional 
  circumstances as the Secretary may provide by regulation where the 
  involvement of the parent would be counter-productive to the treatment 
  involved.
      (c) Application of HIPAA Privacy Regulations.--For purposes of 
  applying the HIPAA privacy regulations, the disclosure of information 
  under this section shall be treated as a permissible disclosure not 
  requiring the consent of the covered individual involved.
      (d) Publication and Notice on Department Websites.--The Secretary 
  shall post information on the requirements of this section on such 
  websites of the Department of Health and Human Services as may be 
  appropriate to inform the public and health care professionals.
      (e) Definitions.--In this section:
              (1) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual'' 
          means an individual who--
                      (A) is--
                              (i) a minor child;
                              (ii) an uninsured adult under the age of 
                          26; or
                              (iii) an adult under the age of 26 who is 
                          covered as a dependent under the health 
                          benefits coverage of a parent; and
                      (B) is being treated for mental illness by a health 
                  care professional.
              (2) Health benefits coverage.--The term ``health benefits 
          coverage'' has the meaning given the term ``minimum essential 
          coverage'' in section 5000A(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code 
          of 1986.
              (3) HIPAA privacy regulations.--The term ``HIPAA privacy 
          regulations'' has the meaning given the term ``HIPAA privacy 
          regulation'' in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act 
          (42 U.S.C. 1320d-9(b)(3)).
              (4) Mental illness.--The term ``mental illness'' means a 
          chronic illness such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective 
          disorder, bipolar disorder, and major clinical depression, and 
          such term includes other conditions contained in the Diagnostic 
          and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV published by the 
          American Psychiatric Association (or any successor publication 
          by such Association).
              (5) Parent.--The term ``parent'' includes a legal guardian.
              (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
          of Health and Human Services.
              (7) Uninsured.--An individual shall be treated as uninsured 
          if the individual is not covered under any health benefits 
          coverage.
target: Elgin Stafford Mental Illness Information Disclosure Act of 2012 or Elgin's Law - Requires a health care professional to disclose to a parent of a covered individual being treated for a mental illness any information regarding the mental illness and treatment which may be useful for the parent's appropriate involvement with the treatment. Excludes exceptional circumstances where parental involvement would be counter-productive to treatment. Makes such a disclosure permissible under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as not requiring consent of the covered individual.
  
  Applies this Act to a minor child, an uninsured adult under age 26, or an adult under age 26 who is included as a dependent under the parent's health benefits coverage.
feat_title: To require the disclosure to parents of information regarding mental illness treatment for their children under the age of 26.