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Depression Parity

States can require private insurers to cover depression—which affects twice as many women as men1—on the same basis as other health conditions.

Mental health and substance abuse services must be included in the "essential benefits package" covered by all new health plans sold to individuals and small businesses beginning in 2014.  These services must be covered at the same level as physical health services, though the mental health parity provisions do not require all mental illnesses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to be covered, meaning that health plans may be able to decide whether or not to cover specific conditions such as depression.

Does the state require private insurers to cover treatment for depression on the same basis as other mental health conditions?

States that require all health plans to cover depression on the same basis as other mental health problems receive a "meets policy." States receive a "limited policy" if they require depression parity in a limited way (e.g., parity is only required for certain types of health plans, like state employee or group health plans). States that do not have any such laws or with parity laws that do not include coverage of depression receive a "no policy."

The way in which this indicator is evaluated has changed from the 2007 Report Card and there are additional data sources involved; therefore there is no comparison to 2007.

State Strength of Policy Change from 2007
Alabama No Policy N/A
Alaska Limited Policy N/A
Arizona Limited Policy N/A
Arkansas Limited Policy N/A
California Meets Policy N/A
Colorado Limited Policy N/A
Connecticut Meets Policy N/A
Delaware Meets Policy N/A
District of Columbia No Policy N/A
Florida No Policy N/A
Georgia No Policy N/A
Hawaii Meets Policy N/A
Idaho Limited Policy N/A
Illinois Limited Policy N/A
Indiana No Policy N/A
Iowa Limited Policy N/A
Kansas No Policy N/A
Kentucky Limited Policy N/A
Louisiana Limited Policy N/A
Maine Limited Policy N/A
Maryland Meets Policy N/A
Massachusetts Meets Policy N/A
Michigan No Policy N/A
Minnesota Meets Policy N/A
Mississippi No Policy N/A
Missouri Limited Policy N/A
Montana Meets Policy N/A
Nebraska Limited Policy N/A
Nevada Meets Policy N/A
New Hampshire Limited Policy N/A
New Jersey Meets Policy N/A
New Mexico Limited Policy N/A
New York Limited Policy N/A
North Carolina Limited Policy N/A
North Dakota No Policy N/A
Ohio Limited Policy N/A
Oklahoma Limited Policy N/A
Oregon Limited Policy N/A
Pennsylvania No Policy N/A
Rhode Island Limited Policy N/A
South Carolina Limited Policy N/A
South Dakota Meets Policy N/A
Tennessee Limited Policy N/A
Texas Limited Policy N/A
Utah Limited Policy N/A
Vermont Meets Policy N/A
Virginia Limited Policy N/A
Washington Meets Policy N/A
West Virginia Meets Policy N/A
Wisconsin Limited Policy N/A
Wyoming No Policy N/A

Policy Indicator Counts
Meets Policy: 
14
Limited Policy: 
26
Weak Policy: 
0
No/Harmful Policy: 
11
Better: 
0
Same: 
0
Worse: 
0

Data Source:National Mental Health Association, "What Have States Done to Ensure Insurance Parity," unpublished data, Updated in July 2008 http://www.nmha.org/go/parity/states, accessed September 8, 2010; National Mental Health Association, "State Parity Laws," unpublished data, collected 2008-2010; NAMI "State Mental Health Parity Laws," updated in July 2009, available at http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Parity1&Template=/ContentManage...,

Footnotes

1 Alina Salganicoff et. al., Women and Health Care: A National Profile (Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation, July 2005), 40, available at http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/Women-and-Health-Care-A-National-..., accessed August 28, 2010.

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