What is insurance parity legislation?
Insurance parity legislation seeks to ensure that substance abuse and/or mental illnesses receive the same levels of coverage as physical health conditions. A federal law—the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) of 1996—required health plans that provide mental health coverage to provide those benefits at the same level as physical health coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) define substance abuse as mental illness, which lead some to assume the MHPA included substance abuse. As passed, however, the bill contained several provisions that allow insurers to maintain their benefit packages at prior levels and excluded substance abuse treatment benefits. Spurred by passage of the act, lawmakers in many states have sought or are seeking some form of parity between substance abuse and physical benefits in all health plans. These legislators often encounter several arguments. The first contends that parity would inflate insurance premiums, wh
