9/7/2022 0 Comments Mental Health Parity LawThe new mental health parity law will expand access to mental health services for a more influential group of people. It also applies to a wider variety of mental health services. This means that more people with mental health needs will be able to receive care that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.
Mental health care is a priority for many people and should be addressed in every state's insurance law. Under the law, health insurers must provide coverage that matches the average cost of a plan for the same patient. However, the ACA allows health plans to file for a cost exemption, increasing their prices by up to 2 percent for the first year. This exemption can only be used annually, and employers must ensure they follow the law. Insurers initially worried about how parity would affect the cost of care. However, research helped alleviate concerns that mental health services would raise premiums. In addition, insurers feared adverse selection because better benefits would attract more users and place some at a price disadvantage. Despite the concerns, insurers eventually changed their position and began offering their customers better mental health benefits. Congress passed the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 in September 2007. It was first introduced by Senators Domenici, Enzi, and Kennedy. It was a compromise bill approved by the Senate HELP Committee and supported by insurance and business groups. It passed the Senate floor unanimously in September 2007. The statement was attached to other legislation that delayed expiring tax breaks. Under parity law, health plans must compare the limitations on mental and physical health benefits. In addition, administrators must publish the analyses and make them available to federal agencies upon request. The Mental Health Parity Act requires group health plans to cover certain mental health services at the same rate as other types of care. The law applies to commercial and Medicaid plans for treatment and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The law also prohibits discrimination against nonphysician BH providers. While the parity law was passed in 1996, it is not fully implemented in all states. APA and other advocacy organizations have worked with state legislatures and members of Congress to advance implementation. In addition, the association has published a poster that explains the law in plain language and is available in Spanish. The Mental Health Parity Act requires that group health plans cover mental health and substance use disorder services at the same rates. The Act also prohibits plans from setting separate treatment limits or cost-sharing requirements for these services. It also requires plans to establish medical necessity determination criteria accessible to contracted providers, participants, and beneficiaries. The New York State mental health parity law requires health insurance companies to provide critical information to the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) annually. This information is used to monitor insurer compliance with parity requirements. As part of this process, insurers must submit reports on their mental health and substance use disorder coverage, rates of medical necessity denials and approvals, and the type of addiction providers they work with. Under the new law, insurers and plans must provide coverage for behavioral health services equivalent to physical illness coverage. This is similar to the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which prevents health plans from imposing higher financial and treatment requirements for mental health care. A federal mental health parity law would ensure that insurance companies cover the same level of mental health care as other types of medical care. Untreated mental illness is costly to the economy, costing employers billions of dollars annually. But even with the new law, the coverage issue is still murky. The Senate version does not require coverage of all mental illnesses listed in the DSM. The House bill, however, explicitly states that it will cover all mental illnesses. Both accounts, however, require insurance companies to offer mental healthcare benefits comparable to the amount of coverage these illnesses receive from other types of health plans.
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