What is mental health parity and how does it affect my coverage for mental health care?

The 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act required that mental health benefits be “comparable to, and applied no more stringently than…medical surgical benefits.” Health insurance plans cannot require higher deductibles, co-payments, or out-of-pocket expenses for your mental health benefits than they do for other medical care. They cannot limit frequency of treatment, number of visits, or days of coverage for your mental health care more so than they do for other medical care. And they cannot use more restrictive criteria for what is medically necessary than they do for medical care.

You can learn more about mental health parity, and your rights under this legislation at this website.

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