WASHINGTON (AP) — Talk about going out with a win. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has spent years fighting for legislation that would require insurance plans to treat mental health patients on par with those who have physical ailments.

Domenici, after six terms, is leaving office this year. One of his final votes was on the mental health legislation he has fought so hard for.

The mental health protections are part of a massive bill designed to help the economy.

Dominici senses that somehow the bill will become law, even though many lawmakers from both parties are unhappy with the economic bailout.

Domenici has a daughter diagnosed with atypical schizophrenia. He got involved in the parity issue after joining a National Alliance on Mental Illness support group nearly 20 years ago. On his way home from work, he and his wife, Nancy, would meet with other parents of children with mental health problems.

“The first real understanding of how broad the problem was came from those meetings where I met with mothers and fathers who had children who were mentally ill, and they were going bankrupt because they couldn’t pay the health bills, or their children were in jails instead of hospitals,” Domenici said.

NY governor looks to lease state assets in long-term private partnership to boost budget