Despite Changes Under Health Law, US Not Achieving Mental Health Parity, Report Suggests

The Washington Post (10/8, Ross) “The Fix” blog reports that the ACA “has boosted the number of Americans with health insurance coverage but has not resolved the disparate way in which many insurers treat the costs of mental and physical health care, according to an April report (PDF) released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.” The report found that Federal changes mandating parity between mental and physical healthcare benefits “do not, in practice, exist for the vast majority of Americans who are insured.” As the country struggles with a heroin crisis, researchers found that people “are struggling to find therapists and psychiatrists who participate in their health insurance plans. They also face more frequent coverage and treatment denials from their health insurance companies for mental health care than for other services and must clear multiple hurdles to maintain a steady supply of mental health care medication.”

Related Links:

— “Obamacare mandated better mental health-care coverage. It hasn’t happened.,” Janell Ross, Washington Post, October 7, 2015.

Posted in In The News.