Washington Post Examines Mental Health Parity Law

The Washington Post on Friday examined how mental health parity legislation, which was included in the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms that President Bush last week signed into law, is "a culmination of a decade of lobbying and negotiating among advocates for the mentally ill, the insurance industry, the business community ... and doctors' groups" (Jenkins, Washington Post, 10/10). The legislation (HR 1424) requires group health plans of 51 or more employees to cover mental illnesses at the same level as physical ailments. It does not require the plans to offer such coverage but it must be equivalent if they do (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/6).

The law, for most health plans, will take effect Jan. 1, 2010. According to the Post, supporters of the measure say change in coverage requirements for health plans "represents a fundamental shift in how the mentally ill are treated" and "an important step in erasing the stigma often associated with such illnesses as post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety-related conditions." Doug Walter, counsel for legislative and regulatory affairs at the American Psychological Association, said, "This is absolutely milestone legislation for those people who have mental health and substance abuse problems," adding, "It ends the discrimination against people who have long needed the help."

However, the law has "significant limitations," the Post reports. Health plans that do not already cover mental health treatment will not be required to do so, and health plans also are not required to provide coverage for every mental health condition published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. In addition, some supporters of the law have expressed concern that the law could prompt some businesses to eliminate mental health benefits. Carol Ulrich, a member of the Virginia Commission on Mental Health Law Reform, said, "Small businesses may say that they can't afford, or think they can't afford, to offer mental health coverage" (Washington Post, 10/10).

Editorial Discusses Passage of Mental Health Parity Bill
The enactment of mental health parity legislation "resolved a 12-year struggle on Capitol Hill to close gaps in insurance coverage that have put at great disadvantage mental health patients and their families," an Akron Beacon Journal editorial states. According to the editorial, "It is telling ... that critical as it is, parity in coverage made it into law only as part of a bill Congress and the White House desperately needed to approve to shore up confidence in the financial system."

The editorial states, "Disparities in coverage prove harmful to millions of patients when arbitrary caps force them to pay high out-of-pocket costs or abandon treatments that can restore mental stability and a degree of productivity." It concludes, "The new law closes a gap that long has been indefensible" (Akron Beacon Journal, 10/10).