The passage of H.R. 3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the healthcare reform bill) last month was the culmination of months of hard work and determination by those in government who felt strongly about the nation’s responsibility to ensure that all citizens have access to a reasonable level of health insurance coverage.
The even better news for those who suffer from mental illness is that this bill piggybacks onto the Mental Health Parity Act that was passed last year as part of the economic stimulus package. In tandem, the bills ensure that more people will be able to have health insurance, and that their insurance will provide mental health coverage that is as broad as any other components of their policy. The Mental Health Parity Act went into effect January 1, 2010 and is just beginning to work its way into existing insurance plans and policies.
Following are some key points relating to these two pieces of legislation:
While parity legislation does not mandate mental health coverage, it stipulates that if an insurer is providing any mental health care benefits, those benefits must be on par with the benefits for all other medical conditions.
The health care reform bill goes a step further; it states that mental health coverage is an essential health benefit, meaning that it must be part of all basic insurance policies.
Most of the health care reform changes will not occur until 2014. However, by June of this year, citizens will have access to high-risk pool insurance policies that will provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, including mental health diagnoses such as bipolar disorder, who were previously unable to obtain insurance.
H.R. 3590 also includes a number of mental health related mandates and services as part of the goal to improve the health of all Americans and, in the process, hopefully reduce many of the costs (direct and indirect ) tied to untreated mental health and substance abuse conditions in this country.
Mandated screening at a number of non-mental health access points, such as prenatal/infant care, schools, and work sites, will improve recognition of mental health symptoms and provide for more timely access to evidence based treatment strategies.
evidence based treatment (EBT)
Any treatment determined to be effective based on research and scientific evidence. EBTs are being implemented in all areas of health care in an effort to reduce errors and improve the standards of care.
It remains to be seen how all of these mandates and systems evolve and how effective they will be. However they are dramatically improved starting points, and I am encouraged by the prospective availability of these new opportunities for all of those who struggle with mental illness and those who love them.
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/bipolar/
