Health Policy Commons^™

Mental Health Parity: National And State Perspectives 2001: A Report To The Florida Legislature, Bruce Lubotsky Levin, Ardis Hanson, Richard Coe

Ardis Hanson

The federal Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 requires insurers to offer the same benefits for mental disorders and substance abuse as they would for physical disorders, including any annual or lifetime limitations and restrictions placed upon such coverage. This report examines actuarial studies, the current state of parity legislation across the nation, cost of treatment issues, and the impact on Florida should parity legislation be passed.

Behavioral Health Benefits For Public Employees: Effect Of Mental Health Parity Legislation, Phyllis Borzi, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

Recently, the Center for Health Services Research and Policy through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examined contracts providing for mental health benefits for state employees in eight states to assess whether legislative attempts to require parity between physical and mental illnesses resulted in noticeable differences in behavioral health benefits for state employees.

We concluded that, except in states that have mandated full parity for some or all types of mental illnesses, behavioral health benefits for state employees have not changed significantly as a result of …