Mental Health Parity Coming In Steps
Monday Feb 11, 2008Mental Health Parity Coming In Steps in Individual Health Insurance
The U.S. House of
Representatives recently passed a measure that would extend a 1996 law that
prohibited insurance companies from requiring different lifetime maximums and
annual limits for mental health care.
That means health plans can’t restrict coverage for mental health conditions more than physical conditions.
The extension was overwhelmingly passed in the House — approved by a 384 to 23 vote, reported CQ Politics and Medical News Today.
It’s a step toward mental health parity, but it’s yet to come in full-form.
In September of 2007, the U.S. Senate approved legislation that would require insurance companies to cover all mental health conditions equally to physical health conditions.
The measure passed in September was proposed by U.S. Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico. One co-sponsor of the bill is Senator Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.
Some had expected the law to pass by the end of 2007.
So, how many people are affected by a mental health illness?
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that almost 58 million Americans suffer from a mental illness every year. They also believe that more than 18 million annually endure a serious mental health condition.
“We want to get full parity, which means we want to get the real bill that extends full coverage of mental illnesses to all health insurance plans, just as we would expect health insurance plans to cover the rest of our body,” said Senator Kennedy.
“We shouldn’t expect any less for mental illnesses,” he added.
