Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rule Proposed For Medicaid Mental Health Parity
The Wall Street Journal: Obama Administration Proposes Rules For Medicaid Mental Health Parity
Medicaid recipients who get services through managed care organizations or alternative benefit plans would get the same access to mental health and substance-abuse benefits as provided by private health plans, under a rule proposed Monday by the Obama administration. ... A number of states put limits on mental health coverage. The proposed rule wouldn’t change those limits on Medicaid fee-for-service plans, but it would stop such limits for Medicaid recipients who are in managed care plans. (Armour, 4/6)
Kaiser Health News: Rule Proposed On Providing Mental Health ‘Parity’ In Medicaid Program
A federal law that passed in 2008 was supposed to ensure that when patients had insurance benefits for mental health and addiction treatment, the coverage was on par with what they received for medical and surgical care. But until now, the government had only spelled out how the law applied to commercial plans. That changed Monday, when federal officials released a long-awaited rule proposing how the parity law should also protect low-income Americans insured through the government’s Medicaid managed care and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans. (Gold, 4/7)
CQ Healthbeat: CMS Unveils Proposed Medicaid Mental Health Parity Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday released a proposed rule intended to create consistency between the commercial and Medicaid markets regarding mental health services. In a statement, CMS said the agency intends to apply certain provisions of current federal law to requirements for Medicaid managed care organizations, Medicaid alternative benefit plans, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. Medicaid, a state and federal program that serves those living in or near poverty, is the nation's single biggest purchaser of mental health services. Under the proposed rule, all beneficiaries who receive services through managed care organizations, alternative benefit plans, or CHIP will have access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits regardless of whether services are provided through the managed care organization or another service delivery system. (Young, 4/6)
Meanwhile, Jenny Gold of Kaiser Health News talks about the continued challenges of delivering mental health parity in the private insurance market -
Kaiser Health News: Battle For Mental Health Parity Produces Mixed Results
Jenny Gold of Kaiser Health News spoke with NPR’s Arun Rath about the broad issue of mental health parity. She noted that many patients have trouble getting mental health care covered, and outlined some issues confronting patients and the insurance industry. (Gold, 4/6)
