Journal Article

How the Affordable Care Act and Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Greatly Expand Coverage of Behavioral Health Care

Frank, Richard, Glied, Sherry, Beronio, Kirsten

2014

Overview

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expand coverage of mental health and substance use disorder benefits and federal parity protections to over 60 million Americans. The key to this expansion is the essential health benefit provision in the ACA that requires coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services at parity with general medical benefits. Other ACA provisions that should improve access to treatment include requirements on network adequacy, dependent coverage up to age 26, preventive services, and prohibitions on annual and lifetime limits and preexisting exclusions. The ACA offers states flexibility in expanding Medicaid (primarily to childless adults, not generally eligible previously) to cover supportive services needed by those with significant behavioral health conditions in addition to basic benefits at parity. Through these various new requirements, the ACA in conjunction with Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) will expand coverage of behavioral health care by historic proportions.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Addictions / Adequacy / Adult / Adults / Benefits / Childlessness / Community and Environmental Psychology / Coverage / Drug use / Equity / Estimates / Flexibility / Government programs / Health behavior / Health care / Health care policy / Health Informatics / Health insurance / Health Insurance Exchanges - economics / Health Insurance Exchanges - legislation & jurisprudence / Health Promotion and Disease Prevention / Health Psychology / Health services / Health Services Accessibility - economics / Health Services Accessibility - legislation & jurisprudence / Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data / Humans / Insurance Benefits - economics / Insurance Benefits - legislation & jurisprudence / Insurance coverage / Insurance Coverage - economics / Insurance Coverage - legislation & jurisprudence / Insurance Coverage - statistics & numerical data / Medicaid / Medicaid - economics / Medicaid - legislation & jurisprudence / Medicaid - statistics & numerical data / Medical treatment / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mental disorders / Mental Disorders - economics / Mental Disorders - therapy / Mental health / Mental health care / Mental health services / Mental Health Services - economics / Mental Health Services - legislation & jurisprudence / Mental Health Services - supply & distribution / Parity / Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act 2010-US / Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - economics / Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - standards / Patient safety / Patients / Preexisting Condition Coverage - economics / Preexisting Condition Coverage - legislation & jurisprudence / Preexisting Condition Coverage - statistics & numerical data / Preventive Health Services - economics / Preventive Health Services - legislation & jurisprudence / Preventive medicine / Provisions / Psychiatry / Public Health / State laws / Studies / Substance abuse / Substance abuse treatment / Substance use / Substance use disorder / Substance-Related Disorders - economics / Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology / Substance-Related Disorders - rehabilitation / Tax credits / Uninsured people / United States - epidemiology / Young Adult