1、Order Code RS22958Updated November 19, 2008Mental Health Parity: An OverviewRamya SundararamanPublic Health Policy AnalystDomestic Social Policy DivisionSummaryMental health parity laws aim to eliminate disparities in insurance coverage ofmental illness and other physical illnesses. A partial federa
2、l mental health parity law,which requires parity only for annual and lifetime limits in coverage, has been inexistence since 1996. Efforts to expand mental health parity, to include provisions liketreatment limitations and out-of-network coverage, passed in the 110th Congress, afterfailing to pass i
3、n the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses. On October 24, 2008, PresidentGeorge Bush signed into law P.L.110-343, which provided for this expanded mentalhealth parity in addition to providing a rescue package for the U.S. financial system. Themental health parity provisions of this law seem to be wid
4、ely supported by advocates forindividuals with mental illnesses as well as insurers. In the 110th Congress, legislatorsfrom the House and Senate struggled to reach compromise language on mental healthparity, and in the last days before its passage, they struggled to develop appropriateoffsets to pay
