What mental health and substance use disorders are covered under the MHP Act?
As stated above, the MHP Act does not require plan sponsors to offer mental health or substance abuse coverage. However, if an plan sponsor chooses to offer mental health or substance abuse benefits, the MHP Act prohibits imposing more restrictive financial requirements (such as copays or deductibles) or treatment limitations (such as day or visit limits) on mental health or substance abuse benefits than those applied to medical or surgical benefits. Does the MHP Act define mental health and substance use disorder benefits? The MHP Act defines mental health and substance use disorder benefits as those “defined under the terms of the plan and in accordance with applicable Federal and State law.” This means that the law defers to group health plans to define mental and substance use disorders and their coverage. As previously noted however, where state law either defines or mandates coverage of specific mental illnesses or services, those definitions will continue to apply to plans subje
