Health insurers would be required to provide comparable levels of coverage for mental health and physical health issues under new legislation passed by both the US House of Representatives and US Senate in September.
The legislation would end a common health insurance practice of charging substantially higher co-pays for and setting more restrictions on mental health care than other health services.
WIDESPREAD SUPPORT
A range of organizations support the measure, including professional medical organizations, health care advocates, the insurance industry, and business organizations. Its passage by both houses was hailed after several previous attempts to address this issue over the past decade or more have failed to pass both houses.
"This compromise legislation helps end discriminatory and unequal coverage of treatment for mental health coverage in most health insurance plans," according to a statement from the American Psychiatric Association.
The bill would not require insurers to cover mental health . . . [Full Text of this Article]
