The Biden administration is finalizing legislation to ensure that insurers pay for mental health care

The Biden administration on Monday announced that it will finalize a much-anticipated proposal aimed at forcing health insurers to provide mental health care on the same basis as physical health conditions.

It’s the latest salvo in the federal government’s long-running effort to undercut insurance plans that resist treatment for conditions including anxiety, depression and addiction.

Despite a longstanding law requiring health insurers to cover mental health as fully as physical health, many Americans — even those with health insurance beauty – they still face financial barriers when seeking care.

“It’s simple: It shouldn’t be harder for you to get care when you’re feeling depressed than it is to get care when you have back pain,” Lisa Gomez, assistant secretary of labor benefits t’ security at the United States Department of Labor, said the press release. meeting. “It should be no more difficult for you to find a provider who can treat an eating disorder than it is to find a provider who can treat an ulcer.”

The finalized regulation follows a proposal that the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury first introduced last summer.

Regulators said the new rules would force insurers to act on assessments they were already required to carry out to ensure they cover mental health conditions compared to others.

The law prohibits plans from using prior authorization for mental health over physical health conditions. It also closes loopholes that exempted insurance plans sponsored by local and regional governments from their requirements.

The new management system, however, does not include new operating procedures. When asked about measures that would force payers to comply with existing and new equity laws, one Biden administration official said only health insurers would provide full health benefits as how to stay competitive.

It’s not the first time government officials have tried to crack down on insurers who are believed to be pinching the pennies when it comes to mental health issues.

Congress first passed the Mental Health Parity Act in 1996. It was largely replaced in 2008 with a new law named after the authors of the original bill: recently Sens. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Pete Domenici (RN.M.), and then renewed in 2020.

But Biden administration officials say some insurers are still failing to comply.

More than 15 years after the second bill passed, “people living with mental health and substance use disorders continue to face greater barriers to seeking benefits for their conditions and problems.” under their plan and coverage than when seeking benefits for medical and surgical conditions,” Gomez. said. “That’s not fair, it’s not right, and it’s against the law.”

The Biden administration’s move to finalize the new law comes more than a year after it was first proposed. Normally, final rules are effective for at least 60 days after they are published.

While efforts to improve mental health equity often enjoy bipartisan support, one top Republican issued a statement criticizing Biden’s latest efforts as regulatory action that will have little effect on patients.

“For over a year, we’ve been telling the Biden-Harris administration that these laws won’t work,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx (RN.C.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. “They are vague and heavy; they over-regulate rather than allow health plans to build strong networks; and they will increase premiums for workers who already face higher health care costs. These laws do nothing to improve access to mental health care and instead place burdens on patients. ”

In statements, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, presented the action as part of a broader effort to help Americans access mental health care.

“President Biden and I are committed to making sure that everyone in our country has the mental health care they need to thrive,” Harris said. “That’s why we’ve made the largest investment in youth mental health in history and are changing the way mental health is understood, diagnosed and treated for all Americans. Today, we continue to ahead of this life-saving and life-changing work by announcing the passage of historic legislation that will expand mental health care across our country so that our loved ones, neighbors, colleagues and students— together with us they get the care they deserve.”

STAT’s coverage of chronic health issues is supported by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Ours financial backers they are not involved in any decisions about our media.