labor lawAdivision of labor law center

It is because of the MHPA, Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, that mental health treatments must receive equality with other types of treatment. The initial bill that was passed in 1996 was due to expire on September 30, 2001. It has been amended five times, including just this passed February, which extended the act until December 31^st this year. MHPA requires that group health insurance plans that fund mental health treatments cover it at the same level as other medical treatments.

Some people may be wondering why their Florida employee benefits don’t insure mental health treatments. Of course, it is not the case for most people, since many insurance plans do cover mental health. For those that may not be covered for psychological treatment, it’s not against the law. There is no state or federal law that requires group health insurance to cover mental health treatments. The MHPA simply regulates those plans that do offer coverage for psychotherapy, counseling, or other mental health treatments.

The federal EBSA, meaning Employee Benefits Security Administration, handles violations regarding health care and pensions. A majority of workers in the United States are covered by employee benefit plans. There are over 150 million people who are protected by the EBSA. If there was a violation concerning mental health coverage, they would be the ones to deal with it, as well as pension law.

Under the MHPA, annual limits on mental health coverage have to match those limits of other medical coverage. A low limit for mental treatment, for example, would have to be the same as the limit for surgery. If the limit for surgery is higher than the limit for mental health, the plan is in violation of the law. Basically, if a plan is going to cover mental health, it has to be covered equally. Otherwise, the only other legal move is not to offer coverage for it all together.

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