Insurance Coverage for Mental Health Issues

In 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act was passed in order to protect the proper insurance coverage for Americans with mental concerns. For many citizens who receive Social Security and associated medical coverage through their work, receiving equal coverage for their mental concerns was problematic. The public perception of mental health issues is not equal to the perceptions of other bodily diseases. This varied opinion has been expressed through insurance coverage that provides limited coverage for mental issues. The Mental Health Parity Act works to redress that situation.

Many Americans suffer from mental issues that require medical attention, doctors visits, and prescription medication just like any other health concern. It is crucial that, if you receive medical benefits through your company, that your complete health concerns are covered as well. The Mental Health Parity Act worked to ensure that an equal annual or lifetime limit of expense is extended to cover mental concerns as well as medical health issues. This also includes other retained rights that may be associated with a general medical expense.

Mental Health

Though there are a few exemptions included in this Act, its purpose is to ensure that insurance providers and companies that may control that insurance do not reduce the benefits to their employees or former employees based on the nature of their illness. Mental concerns can be as detrimental to the life and happiness of a patient as medical concerns. One important restriction included in this act is an exemption for mental health-related concerns regarding substance abuse or chemical dependency.

For more information about all of your health coverage rights, please visit the website of the Indianapolis social security disability lawyers at the Hankey Law Office, P.C..

Insurance Coverage for Mental Health Issues

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Mental Health Insurance

Despite public awareness campaigns highlighting the issues facing people with mental health problems and the fact that no one is immune to developing a mental illness, people with mental health problems are still facing unfair discrimination, prejudice and stigma every day of their lives, not just from members of the public but also from businesses, banks, employers and even when it comes to taking out an insurance policy.

The truth is, any one of us can develop a mental illness, regardless of our age, gender, location, occupation or social status. Actually, the statistics show that at least one in four of us will experience some kind of mental health problem in the space of any one year. Mental health problems can be hugely diverse in nature and can range from mild cases of depression and anxiety to more serious cases of bipolar depression and schizophrenia with the types of symptoms and the degree of intensity of these symptoms varying from person to person. However, there are problems to face in the outside world too.

Mental Health

Possibly one of the most distressing aspects of mental illness is the isolation and social exclusion often experienced by the sufferer purely as a result of ignorance and misunderstanding on the part of other people and it is this that needs to change. If we consider insurance for example, something that most people take for granted, but not if you have had a mental illness in the past or are suffering from a mental health problem at the moment.

The findings of a major report on discrimination against the mentally ill showed that Insurance companies will often deny insurance or place exemptions on an insurance policy when there is a history of mental health problems, even if those problems existed many years ago and are no longer an issue. This applies to any type of insurance and not just life insurance either, travel insurance, mortgage insurance, employment insurance, payment protection insurance, all become more difficult to obtain if you have a mental health problem or a history of mental illness.

This would appear to suggest that insurance companies as well as many others still do not understand the issues or the facts surrounding mental illness or the information just isn't getting through. For example, mental health problems can occur as an isolated case in relation to a specific set of circumstances and once treated, will never happen again, some types of mental illness are episodic in nature, and most people who seek help for mental health problems do go on to lead full and normal lives. Probably the most important point is that just because someone is suffering from a mental health problem doesn't automatically mean they pose a greater risk than anyone else. Insurance companies calculate their insurance premiums on the level of perceived risk, which is supposedly based on medical evidence. Perhaps this is the area that needs to be addressed.

So what can you do about it? Certainly, if there is a case of unfair discrimination then it is possible to sue under the Disability Discrimination Act but according to Mind, the leading UK charity for mental health, only a small number of cases are taken out under this Act and of these, few are ever successful. Similarly, the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) report that most claims against payment protection insurance fail when mental illness is involved as it is a common exclusion in many insurance policies.

It isn't all doom and gloom though, people do seem to be waking up to the fact that something has gone wrong somewhere and that people with mental illness deserve to have the same rights as anyone else. Over in the USA for example, a study by the Mental Health America Association found that the majority of Americans believe that people with mental health problems should no longer be subjected to discrimination by health insurance companies. In fact, some 96% of Americans believe that health insurance should also cover mental health. Here in the UK the government are aware of the issues surrounding mental health and exclusion and are tightening up legislation to protect people from unfair discrimination.

In the meantime, we would all do well to remember that mental health problems are not only common, they are treatable, and can affect any one of us at any time. Until we insist that people with mental health problems receive the same rights in society as everyone else, the problem with insurance will persist.

Mental Health Insurance

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Where to Get Affordable Mental Health Insurance

Mental health insurance is a fairly new type of insurance. As recently as ten years ago, most insurers offered little if any coverage for mental health problems. Now, many states require that insurance companies include some form of mental health insurance coverage as part of their health insurance policies. Here's how to get affordable mental health insurance.

What Does Mental Health Insurance Cover?

Mental Health

Mental health insurance coverages vary widely among insurance companies. Most insurance companies cover problems such as

* Anxiety

* Depression

* Relationship difficulties

* Social phobias

They typically do not cover alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, nor do they cover therapy related to gender change.

Insurance companies typically allow around 20 to 30 sessions with a mental health professional per year, paying anywhere from 50-80 percent of the bill.

Selecting a Mental Health Insurance Policy

Whether you're looking for an insurance policy that just covers mental health or a policy that includes both physical and mental health coverage, your best option for finding an affordable policy is to shop around. Go to an insurance comparison website and get quotes from multiple A-rated companies that you can compare. As you compare the policies, look for whether the policy:

* Requires a referral from your primary care physician or employee assistance program.

* Includes a preferred list of providers and hospitals you must choose from and what the financial consequences are if you choose someone else.

* Includes a separate annual deductible for mental health services.

* Pays for office visits, medication, respite care, outpatient hospital care, and inpatient hospital care and what the co-payments are for these services.

* Limits your number of visits.

* Excludes certain diagnoses or pre-existing conditions.

* Includes an annual or lifetime cap for mental health coverage.

Where to Get Affordable Mental Health Insurance

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Mental Health Insurance and Parity

Mental Health Insurance will soon be treated the same as medical and surgical benefits. Addiction Treatment benefits will have the same rate of return as those as a surgical procedure. When the congressional economic recovery package was signed on October 3rd the Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act was a rider on that package.

This Act will lead to wholesale changes in the way insurance benefits are written for those suffering with mental health problems and addiction problems. Since 1973 when HMOS started limiting the treatment benefits for addicts and alcoholics the number of days allowed in drug rehabs has dwindled to what it is today. Some policies allow only detox with no reimbursement for any continuing care or aftercare.

Mental Health

Families faced with the financial cost for addiction treatment often felt betrayed by the provider when the coverage just wasn't there. Some people would mortgage their homes others would be forced to put the bill on their credit cards and still others just went without treatment.

The Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act will impact over 100 million people enrolled in state regulated or employer-funded plans. The bill will go into effect in January 1, 2010. This is not a free pass for drug rehab centers and eating disorder treatment programs to bill providers outrageously. Benefits will continue to be managed and medical necessity will still have to be proven. What this bill does accomplish is group health plans will be required to raise the cap to match the medical surgical plans giving the coverage necessary for addicts, alcoholics and those with mental health problems to receive the help they deserve.  

Mental Health Insurance and Parity

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