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Recovery in the News
Editorial
Mental health parity remains too elusive
Appleton Post-Crescent
October 24, 2007
Low reimbursement a growing problem in access
Mental health advocates are happy to see that legislation to create mental health parity is advancing in Congress.
The legislation would ensure that health insurance would have to cover mental illness just as it does physical illness.
But those thinking that parity will be some kind of panacea to cure what ills mental health coverage will be disappointed.
There are two versions of the legislation, both with bipartisan support and both stating that, if an insurance plan covers mental illness at all, the coverage should be substantially similar to its coverage of physical illness.
The House bill, recently approved by a committee, is more specific and expansive about what mental illnesses are to be covered.
The Senate has already passed its bill, which would exempt companies with fewer than 50 employees — and has more support from businesses and the insurance industry.
If the House bill passes, too, the two bills will be reconciled in a conference committee. President Bush has already said he supports mental health parity, so whatever legislation emerges from Congress has a strong chance of getting signed into law.
But the law's effect will be limited if there's no parity in how insurance companies reimburse mental health providers.
Increasingly, mental health care providers are becoming frustrated with the reimbursement they receive not only from government medical assistance programs but also from private insurance providers — and from the growing amount of paperwork that comes with it. Some have even gotten to the point where they don't even accept private insurance anymore because it's not worth the return.
For example, a major insurance provider in Ohio, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, said it would be cutting its mental-health reimbursement rates 15 to 20 percent. That provides a significant strain in a field that's already plagued by diminishing numbers.
True mental health parity will only occur when not only coverage is similar to physical health coverage, but the access to mental health care is improved — or at least not stunted — by more equitable reimbursement rates.
© Copyright 2007 Appleton Post-Crescent