Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1035653
Evaluating State Mental Health and Addiction Parity Statutes: A Technical Report 23 3. To which types of health insurance/benefit plans do the relevant parity sections of state law apply? (10 points available; points awarded for each answer selected) a. Large group plans (2 points) b. Small group plans (2 points) c. Individual plans (2 points) d. State and/or county/municipal employee plans (2 points) e. Medicaid plans (2 points) This question ultimately determines how many people within a state have insurance that includes parity. Some states limit their parity statutes to large group health plans, while others require all health benefit plans to cover behavioral health services and to do so in a comparable way to which medical treatment is covered. For coding purposes, if a state statute did not specifically include or exclude specific types of plans and included a broad definition of "health benefit plan" large group, small group, individual and state employee health benefit plans would be included and the state would receive 8 points. States only received 2 points for Medicaid plans if the statute specifically included Medicaid. Only 2 states' statutes explicitly included Medicaid (Illinois & Missouri). 4. Are different types of plans (refer to Question 3) required to cover behavioral health services in the same way? (10 points available; only one answer may be selected) a. Yes (10 points) b. No (0 points) Uniformity in the requirements of state codes is essential to eliminating confusion and guaranteeing equal protections for all individuals insured. Additionally, disparate requirements for different plan types can increase the administrative burden for plans when designing benefits. For coding purposes, states received 10 points if identical provisions applied to the health plans recognized in Question 3. For example, states whose parity statutes only applied to large and small group plans would receive 10 points if the parity provisions were identical for both large and small group plans.