Final Rules on Equal Coverage for Mental Health Care Receive Mixed Reactions

‘Simply put, getting care for anxiety should be as easy as getting medical help for an injured shoulder,’ Employee Benefits Security’s Lisa M. Gomez said.

Photo illustration dated January 2020 of a teenage girl showing signs of mental health issues. PA

The departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury issued new rules on Sept. 9 requiring health plans to provide the same level of coverage for mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment as they do for medical and surgical conditions. While some praised the move for improving access to mental health care, others expressed concerns about its potential effect on coverage and insurance costs.

The departments say that the more than 530-page final rules aim to address longstanding disparities in health plan coverage of mental health and SUD benefits, according to the agencies, in line with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008.