Most Popular Stories
- 20 percent of diabetics are 100 pounds overweight, study concludes
- Case study: NYC works to manage diabetes
- Verizon is the latest telecom to seek riches in mobile healthcare
- MRSA invading hospitals through outpatient traffic
- Medical liability premiums dropping nationwide
- DTC pharma ads could raise Medicaid costs
Featured Jobs
-
Emergency Department Clinical Mgr Job in MD
StaffPointe, LLC - Baltimore, MD -
PA or NP Job for Minnesota
StaffPointe, LLC - north, MN -
Pulmonary/CC Physician Job in Indiana
StaffPointe, LLC - Kokomo , IN -
Apheresis RN Job in Texas
StaffPointe, LLC - near Galveston, TX -
Physical Therapist
Makro Health - West Reading, PA
Events
- Security Audits: Is Your Organization Prepared and In Compliance?
Dec.3 at 12 pm CT - Harvard Business School 7th Healthcare Conference
January 30, 2010
Paid Research Reports
- Pricing and Reimbursement in Key Asia Pacific Markets
- Delivery Mechanisms for Large Molecule Drugs: Successes and failures of leading technologies and key drivers for market success
- The Cardiovascular Market Outlook to 2013: Competitive landscape, global market analysis and pipeline analysis
- Intellectual Property and Outsourcing in China: Minimizing risk whilst maximizing return on investment
- Health Care Equipment & Supplies: Global Industry Guide
- 2009 Trends to Watch: Healthcare Technology
FEATURES >> YouTube | Top acute-care hospitals | Women in Health IT | Top BlackBerry Apps | Commentary
TOPICS >> Stimulus | Health Reform | CMS News | Finance | EMRs | Mobile Healthcare | Hospital Leadership Blog
Free Newsletter
FierceHealthcare is the leading source of healthcare management news for healthcare industry executives. Join 50,000+ healthcare industry insiders who get FierceHealthcare via daily email. Sign up today!
Popular Topics
- Medicare
- health plans
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Insurance
- Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Medicaid
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- healthcare system
- health reform
- prescription drugs
- pharmaceutical companies
A look at mental health parity in action
As federal legislators debate bills that would create parity between mental health insurance benefits and traditional medical benefits, few have asked the question as to whether this approach has really expanded access in the past. However, if Connecticut's experience is any guide, parity of benefits may not close the mental health treatment gap completely. Connecticut, which has had a mental health parity law on the books since 2000, requires the state's insurers to pay for treatment of mental or nervous conditions accepted by the psychiatric profession. However, there are several flaws in the bill that make it almost useless, critics say. For example, insurers can still decide which treatments are "medically necessary," can pay mental health providers as little as possible and can force them to go through so much paperwork that they refuse to participate in plans. The state's critics say that unless proposed federal bills address these problems, the new federal rules will have no teeth either.
To learn more about Connecticut's experience:
- read this Hartford Courant article
Related Articles:
Competing mental health parity bills duke it out. Report
Mental health coverage still not equal. Report
Mental health parity bill moves ahead. Report
Related Stories
- AMA tackles out-of-network fines by health plans
- PacifiCare faces $1.33B fine
- Health plans settle physician class action suit
- CA law would ban balance billing for ED services
- NY MDs sue Oxford, UnitedHealth
- MA health plans keep cutting prices
- Hospital group wants health coverage requirement
- Universal insurance in the works in NJ
- CA begins health discount card licensing
- MA exempts 20% of uninsured from mandate
Comments
Post new comment
Home
| Subscribe | Advertise | Mobile Edition | RSS |
Privacy
| Site Map | List in Marketplace | Supplier MarketplaceTHE FIERCEMARKETS NETWORKFierceFinance | FierceFinanceIT | FierceComplianceIT | FierceHealthcare | FierceHealthFinance | FierceHealthIT | Hospital Impact | FierceMobileHealthcare | FierceCIO | FierceCIO:TechWatch | FierceContentManagement | FierceMobileIT | FierceGovernmentIT | FierceBiotech | FierceBiotech Research | FiercePharma | FierceVaccines | FierceBiotechIT | FiercePharma Manufacturing | FierceIPTV | FierceOnlineVideo | FierceTelecom | FierceVoIP | FierceBroadbandWireless | FierceDeveloper | FierceMobileContent | FierceWireless | FierceWireless:Europe© 2009 FierceMarkets, Inc. All rights reserved. |
![]() |





