Legislative Issues: Parity
There are currently 41 states with parity (benefits and restrictions in insurance coverage for mental health and addictions services equivalent to those for other health services) laws covering 26 million Americans. These laws vary substantially in terms of their scope and requirements.
Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to extend parity to both mental health and addictions treatment services for the first time. In the Senate, Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Michael Enzi (D-WY), and Pete Domenici (R-NM) introduced the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 (S 558) on February 12, 2007. In the House, Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) introduced the Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health And Addiction Equity Act of 2007 (HR 1424) on March 7, 2007.
Both the Senate and House bills
- Amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and expand upon the existing 1996 federal parity law
- Apply to group health plans with 50 employees or more
- Require plans to ensure that any financial requirements (co-payments, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, etc.) applied to mental health and addictions benefits are no more restrictive or costly than the financial requirements applied to substantially all comparable medical and surgical benefits that the plan covers.
- Prohibit plans from establish separate cost sharing requirements that apply only to mental health benefits.
- Contain no employer mandate for mental health and addiction coverage.
- Include parity for both mental health and addictions treatment services.
The National Council commends the House and Senate for working toward parity for both mental health and addictions treatment services and providing equalization of financial requirements like co-payments and deductibles while also providing for comparability regarding day and visit limits.
