This law is merely a stepping stone on the road to equal coverage for mental disorders. Parity is important because it means that people will be able to receive treatment more easily and more affordably than they could ever under historical insurance discimination. That is an astounding number, given the affordability and effectiveness of mental health treatment. For example, angioplasty, a common medical procedure paid for and approved by most insurance companies, has only a 41 percent success rate. The bulk of research to date certainly doesn't suggest so.
Additional work is needed to supplement the existing mental health parity law.
As we stated in our February article, As proponents of parity are beginning to see, however, there are many loopholes to the new law. Companies can still limit specific types of treatments and interventions. For example, a company's health plan may specify that an individual can receive no more than 30 inpatient days in a psychiatric hospital. They could also limit the specific number of outpatient visits per year. Companies can increase the co-payment required at each visit, and can also do so unequally.