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Synopsis: Many Americans are not protected by federal and state mental health parity laws. ERISA-based, self-insured health plans are frequently allowed to bypass these laws. People are often unpleasantly surprised to learn that their mental health needs are not covered by their insurance plan. This article explains why, and what people can do to advocate for themselves.
BY LEN LANTZ, MD, author of unJoy / 1.19.2020; No. 11 / 10 min read
This article has been archived as it no longer has current information due to the passage of the Strengthening Behavioral Health Parity Act (SBHPA) on 12.27.2020. For a more recent article on mental health parity and the SBHPA, please see my article titled, “The Strengthening Behavioral Health Parity Act (SBHPA): An Enormous Step Forward in Mental Health Parity.”