Maryland Regulatory Commision Adds Mental Health/Substance Abuse Treament Coverage to Standard Benefits Plan for Small Businesses

The Maryland Health Care Commission on Oct. 17 approved one new benefit in the standard health care package that small employers may offer to their workers, the Baltimore Sun reports. The commission, which regulates policies for companies with less than 50 employees, added a benefit to require coverage for mental health and substance-abuse treatment at residential crisis facilities. While providing the benefit may increase costs if more people take advantage of the service, the treatment is less costly than providing hospitalization for a patient, Enrique Martinez-Vidal, deputy director of the commission, said. In addition, the commission recommended clarifying the coverage of care resulting from birth defect complications. The changes go into effect in July 2003 and are anticipated to increase the cost of coverage to 87.9% of the state's affordability ceiling, which is set at 12% of the average wage, according to the Sun. Although some commission members argued that additional benefits should be added until the ceiling is reached, one member said, "We can't afford to buy everything for everybody." State-regulated policies for small employers insure 456,000 residents, down 2.8% from last year, at an average cost of $3,565 per employee (Salganik, Baltimore Sun, 10/18).