Congress is on the verge of passing legislation mandating that health plans cover mental health and substance abuse treatment to the same extent that they cover other medical and surgical treatment. In a study published Dec. 18 on the Health Affairs web site, researchers say that passage of either the Senate or House version of this legislation would constitute a major improvement over the current 1996 Mental Health Parity Act, which guaranteed only equal annual and lifetime payment limits. However, the authors also warn that parity legislation could actually reduce access to mental health treatment for some patients if it does not facilitate treatment by providers outside insurers’ networks.
The version of parity legislation passed by the Senate would allow plans to vary the types of mental disorders covered under parity and to drop out-of-network mental health coverage altogether if they decide that offering such benefits is not in their best interest. In contrast, the parity bill moving through the House would require plans to cover all mental disorders and to cover out-of-network mental health treatment at the same levels as other out-of-network treatment. Read the abstract.
