DOL seeks public comment on mental health parity law

The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Treasury, and Health and Human Services (HHS) published a request for information (RFI) in the April 28 Federal Register asking for public comments regarding the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

The mental health parity bill was signed into law in October 2008, ensuring better insurance coverage for mental health treatments. The law requires health care plans to provide equal coverage of mental and physical illness.

Before the bill was signed, insurers could set high co-payments and deductibles and stiff limits on treatment for mental illness and addiction disorders.

The government is now seeking information and advice from the public regarding the best ways to implement the new rules for group health plans.

The public is encouraged to share comments on issues including:

• The types of financial requirements or treatment limits currently set by health plans.
• How certain terms in the statute could be clarified to make compliance easier.
• Health plans’ current disclosure practices regarding medical necessity determinations and denial of medical coverage.
• Current health plan practices concerning out-of-network coverage for mental health benefits.

Public comments may be submitted by mail, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov), or by sending an e-mail to E-OHPSCA.EBSA@dol.gov. Comments will be accepted through May 28, 2009.

DOL seeks public comment on mental health parity law

President signs mental health parity into law

A new law included in the economic bailout bill President Bush signed on Friday, will ensure more than one-third of Americans better insurance coverage for mental health treatments.

The mental health care benefits parity legislation will require health care plans to provide equal coverage of mental and physical illness. In the past, insurers were able to set higher co-payments and deductibles and harsh limits on treatment for mental illness and addiction disorders.

According to Workforce Management:

For example, plans no longer will be allowed to limit the number of annual outpatient visits for treatment of mental disorders while not imposing a comparable limit on the number of outpatient visits for other medical problems.

While the plan changes would be extensive, the cost impact is expected to be modest. The Congressional Budget Office last year estimated that enactment of a similar bill would boost health insurance premiums by an average of about 0.2 percent a year.

A result of 12 years of advocacy, the new law is described as “a milestone in the quest for civil rights, an effort to end insurance discrimination and to reduce the stigma of mental illness,” according to The New York Times.

The law will be effective for most health care plans on January 1, 2010. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees are exempt.


Related post:

Mental Health Parity Bill passes House, on to negotiations

President signs mental health parity into law

Mental Health Parity Bill passes House, on to negotiations

On March 5 the House of Representatives approved a bill designed to boost mental health benefits, called the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. The legislation now moves to House-Senate negotiations to decide on a final bill.

The proposed bill would require group health plans offering benefits for the treatment of mental health and substance addiction disorders to provide the same level of benefits for those conditions as they do for physical illnesses.

The bill also includes provisions for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007, passed in April 2007, that would ban discrimination by employers and health insurers against employees on the basis of genetic information, and would prohibit insurers from requiring genetic tests.

On the same day the bill passed the House, the Bush Administration issued a statement indicating its opposition to the mental health and addiction act. The Administration said the act would “effectively mandate coverage of a broad range of diseases and conditions and would have a negative effect on the accessibility and affordability of employer-provided health benefits and would undermine the uniform administration of employee benefit plans.”

Check our blog frequently for further news as the bill travels through the legislative process.

For more information read this article on SHRM.

Mental Health Parity Bill passes House, on to negotiations