Health plans offered by employers typically provide less coverage for mental health than for general medical and surgical services. Some states and the federal government have begun to require that mental health treatment be covered in the same way as other medical care. Parity legislation seeks to improve coverage of mental health care by closing the gap between benefits for physical and mental health care. The measure excludes businesses with 50 or fewer employees, and allows all employers to be exempted from the law if their costs rise more than one percent as a result of complying with the requirements. One in every four families is affected by mental illness.
Treatment is cost-effective.
Mental disorders are medical illnesses. Mental illness, heart disease, cancer and diabetes are all medical illnesses. Reform is hampered by stigma. The lack of adequate insurance coverage for mental illness may have less to do with economics and actuarial data and more to do with the stigma associated with this illness. The main beneficiaries of parity will be families with children.