Now that the country has a mental health parity law, advocates turn their attention to how it should be implemented and made as comprehensive as possible.
The extent to which the recently enacted mental health parity law (PL 110-343) will expand access to mental health care nationwide will be impacted by the reaction of insurance companies and employers to how the law is implemented and any additional costs that might arise from the benefit (see Experts Disagree Over Future of MH Care Spending).
Mental health advocates including APA, who have battled to improve insurance coverage for psychiatric illnesses since the 1970s, achieved a substantial victory when the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was signed by President George W. Bush in October. The law requires health plans that offer mental health coverage to have the same benefits, copayments, and treatment limits as other types of health care (Psychiatric News, October 17 and November 7).
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC NEWS
Showing posts with label mental health paritry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mental health paritry. Show all posts
Friday, November 21, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Bailout Provision Provides Equal Coverage for Mental and Physical Ailments
More than one-third of all Americans will soon receive better insurance coverage for mental health treatments because of a new law that, for the first time, requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses.
The requirement, included in the economic bailout bill that President Bush signed on Friday, is the result of 12 years of passionate advocacy by friends and relatives of people with mental illness and addiction disorders. They described the new law as a milestone in the quest for civil rights, an effort to end insurance discrimination and to reduce the stigma of mental illness.
Most employers and group health plans provide less coverage for mental health care than for the treatment of physical conditions like cancer, heart disease or broken bones. They will need to adjust their benefits to comply with the new law, which requires equivalence, or parity, in the coverage.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
The requirement, included in the economic bailout bill that President Bush signed on Friday, is the result of 12 years of passionate advocacy by friends and relatives of people with mental illness and addiction disorders. They described the new law as a milestone in the quest for civil rights, an effort to end insurance discrimination and to reduce the stigma of mental illness.
Most employers and group health plans provide less coverage for mental health care than for the treatment of physical conditions like cancer, heart disease or broken bones. They will need to adjust their benefits to comply with the new law, which requires equivalence, or parity, in the coverage.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Thursday, March 6, 2008
House Approves Bill on Mental Health Parity
After more than a decade of struggle, the House on Wednesday passed a bill requiring most group health plans to provide more generous coverage for treatment of mental illnesses, comparable to what they provide for physical illnesses.
The vote was 268 to 148, with 47 Republicans joining 221 Democrats in support of the measure.
The Senate has passed a similar bill requiring equivalence, or parity, in coverage of mental and physical ailments. Federal law now allows insurers to discriminate, and most do so, by setting higher co-payments or stricter limits on mental health benefits.
“Illness of the brain must be treated just like illness anywhere else in the body,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California. Supporters of the House bill, including consumer groups and the American Psychiatric Association, said it would be a boon to many of the 35 million Americans who experience disabling symptoms of mental disorders each year.
READ MPRE @ NY TIMES
The vote was 268 to 148, with 47 Republicans joining 221 Democrats in support of the measure.
The Senate has passed a similar bill requiring equivalence, or parity, in coverage of mental and physical ailments. Federal law now allows insurers to discriminate, and most do so, by setting higher co-payments or stricter limits on mental health benefits.
“Illness of the brain must be treated just like illness anywhere else in the body,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California. Supporters of the House bill, including consumer groups and the American Psychiatric Association, said it would be a boon to many of the 35 million Americans who experience disabling symptoms of mental disorders each year.
READ MPRE @ NY TIMES
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