It's been a long time coming and should help thousands of people deal with mental health issues every bit as debilitating as any physical ailments one might suffer from.
Let's hope insurers make parity quick and painless for those of us in need of mh services....
Lawmakers Urge Health Insurers To Enforce New Mental Parity Act
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 05 Jul 2010 - 2:00 PDT
The Hill: "Health plans that say mental illnesses can't be treated like physical ailments are relying on an 'outdated argument' without merit that does not reflect 'three decades of scientific research,' 52 House members wrote in a recent letter to regulators.
The comments come as a landmark law requiring parity in how health plans cover physical and mental illness went into effect Thursday. ... The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, [signed into law in 2008] requires that large-group health plans that offer mental health and substance-use disorder coverage do so on parity with their medical and surgical coverage. ... The law applies to plan years starting Thursday, but some actuaries say most health plans aren't ready" (Pecquet, 7/1).
This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.
