Mental Health Parity
States can enact mental health parity legislation that requires private insurers to cover mental health disorders on the same basis as physical disorders for individuals and groups of all sizes.
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.
Does the state have mental health parity legislation?
States receive a "meets policy" if they have comprehensive laws requiring parity for all mental health problems and substance abuse. States that require parity with certain exceptions receive a "limited policy." States receive a "weak policy" if they have required parity for only a limited set of mental health problems (e.g., severe mental illness), for a limited population (e.g., state and local employees, HMO enrollees), or only for specific aspects of coverage (e.g., spending limits, out-of-pocket expenses). States receive a "no policy" if they have no mental health parity law.
Some states do not have a mental health parity law, but do require health plans to cover mental health services (i.e., a mental health coverage mandate). These states are Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.
| State | Strength of Policy | Change from 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No Policy | Same |
| Alaska | Weak Policy | Better |
| Arizona | Weak Policy | Same |
| Arkansas | Weak Policy | Same |
| California | Weak Policy | Same |
| Colorado | Weak Policy | Same |
| Connecticut | Meets Policy | Same |
| Delaware | Weak Policy | Same |
| District of Columbia | No Policy | Same |
| Florida | No Policy | Same |
| Georgia | No Policy | Same |
| Hawaii | Weak Policy | Same |
| Idaho | Weak Policy | Same |
| Illinois | Weak Policy | Same |
| Indiana | Limited Policy | Same |
| Iowa | Weak Policy | Same |
| Kansas | No Policy | Same |
| Kentucky | Limited Policy | Same |
| Louisiana | Weak Policy | Same |
| Maine | Limited Policy | Same |
| Maryland | Meets Policy | Same |
| Massachusetts | Weak Policy | Same |
| Michigan | No Policy | Same |
| Minnesota | Meets Policy | Same |
| Mississippi | No Policy | Same |
| Missouri | Weak Policy | Same |
| Montana | Weak Policy | Same |
| Nebraska | Weak Policy | Same |
| Nevada | Weak Policy | Same |
| New Hampshire | Weak Policy | Same |
| New Jersey | Weak Policy | Same |
| New Mexico | Limited Policy | Same |
| New York | Weak Policy | Same |
| North Carolina | Limited Policy | Better |
| North Dakota | No Policy | Same |
| Ohio | Weak Policy | Same |
| Oklahoma | Weak Policy | Same |
| Oregon 1 | Meets Policy | Same |
| Pennsylvania | No Policy | Same |
| Rhode Island | Limited Policy | Same |
| South Carolina | Weak Policy | Same |
| South Dakota | Weak Policy | Same |
| Tennessee | Weak Policy | Same |
| Texas | Weak Policy | Same |
| Utah | Weak Policy | Same |
| Vermont | Meets Policy | Same |
| Virginia | Weak Policy | Same |
| Washington | Limited Policy | Same |
| West Virginia | Weak Policy | Same |
| Wisconsin | Limited Policy | Better |
| Wyoming | No Policy | Same |
Data Sources: 1) National Mental Health Association, "What Have States Done to Ensure Insurance Parity," Updated in July 2008, available at http://www.nmha.org/go/parity/states, accessed September 8, 2010; 2) National Mental Health Association, "State Parity Laws," unpublished data, collected 2008-2010.
Footnotes
1 Oregon was graded incorrectly in the 2007 Report Card. It should have received a "limited policy" instead of a "meets policy." Since there is no change in the individual state law for this state, the comparison with 2007 is based on the underlying data, that is, there is no change from 2007.
