Mental and Physical Health Coverage Given Equal Billing
October 31st, 2008
President Bush signed a bill requiring health insurers to provide the same benefits for mental health care as for other physical ailments. Companies will not be allowed to charge different rates for mental and physical health services. This “partial parity” law bans insurance plans from paying less to treat mental ailments as opposed to physical ones and stops insurers from having a $5,000 limit for mental health illness when the medical surgical limit is $50,000.
This will affect companies with more than 50 employees who already cover chronic mental illness such as addiction, eating disorders, and depression. Listen to the NPR newsclip or read the NPR story Mental Health Parity Approved With Bailout Bill for details.
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