Can health plans drop mental health and substance use benefits completely?
Yes. The act does not require health plans to provide mental health and substance use benefits, but if the plan does provide such coverage, it must be at parity with physical health coverage. Elimination of these benefits would likely be very expensive to health plans. A Kaiser Family Foundation Annual Survey of Benefits showed that 97 percent of plans already provide mental health and substance use benefits. It is now well accepted these benefits are an integral part of treating most health conditions. Effective treatment of most illnesses like diabetes, asthma and congestive heart conditions requires a full recognition and treatment of comorbid mental health and substance use disorders.
