Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has signed a bill which demands that insurance companies offer the same level of benefits for mental health as for physical diseases. The move, while displeasing businesses concerned about rising costs, doesn't provide a carte blanche for MH treatment. The bill only requires that employers offer health plans which offer coverage for seven "biologically-based mental illnesses," such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. An earlier draft of the bill had mandated alcohol and drug addiction coverage, but advocates agreed to drop it in the face of strong pressure from employers.
As it turns out, the bill also offers employers a loophole--some would say a whopping one--allowing insurance companies to avoid the requirement if they can demonstrate that the mandate causes overall coverage costs to increase by more than 1 percent over a six month period. Methinks insurers will have no trouble doing so, given that numbers can be made to say pretty much anything you like, but apparently advocates in other states have found that increases have not topped one percent. With New York passing a similar bill late last year, and others considering similar measures this year, expect to see lots of mental health data debates over the next few months.
To learn more about the mental health parity situation:
- read this Associated Press piece