- A federal report found that health insurers are failing to deliver parity in mental health and substance use disorder benefits for their members. HHS and the Department of Labor conducted an investigation last year revealing numerous issues, including issuers requiring licensed mental health or substance use providers to bill the plan only through specific types of providers; limiting or excluding medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder; and covering nutritional counseling for medical conditions like diabetes, but not for mental health conditions like anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating disorder. As of late October, 26 plans and issuers had pledged to make prospective changes to their benefits, including omitting a non-quantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) limiting mental health or substance use benefits. (Press release here; Report here; Articles here, here, and here)
January 26, 2022
Mental Health