ALBANY, N.Y., September 15 – Insurance coverage for mental illness moved forward when the New York State Senate returned to Albany for a brief session on September 15.

Legislation, known as Timothys Law, which has passed in the Assembly for several years, has passed in the Senate as it returned to act on a judicial nomination, according to a spokeswoman for the Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Both houses of the Legislature reached agreement on the legislation during the last days of the regular session, but ran out of time to vote on it. They agreed to take it up the next time they convened.

The legislation is named for Timothy OClair, of Schenectady, who took his life in 2001 when his familys health insurance for his mental illness ran out. His family gave up custody of him so he could get more treatment.

Health insurance under Timothys Law would be prevented from offering less coverage for mental illness than for other ailments. Under the bill, every insured person would have a minimum of 20 outpatient visits for mental illnesses, and 30 inpatient days a year. Insurers would not be able to require higher co-payments than for any other type of health service. The state would pick up the extra cost of providing the insurance for businesses of 50 or fewer employees.