Parity tagged posts

Carol McDaid
Parity Implementation Coalition

CFYM Note: Many people wonder if their health insurance will cover costs for mental health hospitalization, therapy and medication. Read this first post in a series by Carol McDaid that explains your rights concerning equal insurance benefits in relation to physical and mental disorders.

Hint: Our work isn’t over

As a person living in recovery, I know firsthand the struggles people face when seeking mental health and addiction benefits. I understand what it’s like to be sick and in desperate need of treatment, told by my employer I had to go to treatment, but denied care by an insurance company.

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On Tuesday, inspired by Labor Day, we looked at three mental health policy issues for employees. One of those was the declining number of people who have health insurance through their work.

What are the ramifications for people who do not have employer-sponsored health insurance?

Today, two members of the CFYM community describe their struggles to access mental health care services in the absence of employer-sponsored health insurance. After her health insurance through COBRA ran out, Janet faced the prospect of highly-restrictive coverage, then no coverage...

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Care for Your Mind

As we return from the Labor Day holiday and our annual tribute to the contributions of workers to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country, it’s fitting to take a quick look at mental health policy issues for employees. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) presented new opportunities for people to receive mental health care from their employer-provided health coverage. The Mental Health Parity law attempts to level the field between medical/surgical health care and care for mental health and substance use disorders, while the ACA aims to open access to affordable health care, including behavioral health care services, for more people. Both of these laws come into play, in part, through employees’ health insurance benefits.

Fewer people are getting health insurance through work.

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CFYM Note: Mental Health Advocate Profile posts allow CFYM to highlight an organization’s broader range of advocacy interests and concerns. Today’s profile features the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Any organizations seeking to be featured in a CFYM Mental Health Advocate Profile should submit information about current legislative interests and activities to info@careforyourmind.org. We welcome your submissions!

NAMI is a grassroots organization of individuals with mental illnesses, especially serious mental illnesses, their family members, and friends whose mission is to advocate for effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment, support, research, and recovery to improve the quality of life of persons of all ages who are affected by mental illnesses.

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Mark J. Covall
President and CEO, National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems

Medicare denies specialty inpatient care for mental illness but not any other medical condition.

Over the past few years, we’ve made great strides in eliminating barriers to mental health treatment. In 2008, Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires private insurers to cover mental health and addiction treatment at the same level as other medical disorders.

However, lawful discrimination against mental illnesses still exists for seniors and disabled adults who receive benefits through Medicare.

That’s because Medicare beneficiaries have a lifetime limit of 190 days of inpatient psychiatric hospital care. There is no such lifetime limit for any other Medicare specialty inpatient hospital service.

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Ron Manderscheid, Ph.D.
Executive Director, NACBHDD

It is said that a problem well-stated is half-solved. In my last post, I identified the significant economic, geographic, service system, and interpersonal challenges that can slow or thwart entirely the ability to get needed prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for behavioral health conditions. I pointed out how, as a result, few people with mental health problems ever get either behavioral or physical health care services, resulting in shortened lives by as many as 25 years.

In this post, I examine ways in which the challenges to accessing behavioral health care can be overcome. In particular, I look at ways in which implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a real and vital tool to help people with mental conditions get, retain, and benefit from individualized, consumer-centered care and services.

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Insurance-Related Challenges
In yesterday’s Expert Perspective, Ron Manderscheid outlined three common kinds of challenges to accessing mental health care: insurance-related, provider-related, and distance-related challenges. Over the next three days, we’ll hear personal stories from individuals who’ve experienced these roadblocks first-hand.

Today, we hear from Jennifer, who, like many of you, experienced insurance-related challenges first-hand.

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