labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Under a recent ruling, workers in Virginia may not have to worry about the cost of funding mental health treatments.

This will have a positive outcome for Virginia employee benefit plans. This is due to a ruling by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the ruling applies to over 150 million workers in the United States.

The Mental Health Parity Act, or MHPA was recently extended through December 31, 2007. Previously, the original bill has a “sunset clause” written into it, when it was signed into law in 1996. This meant that the bill would expire on September 31, 2001. After 5 amendments, the expiration date has been extended.

It is now illegal for the amount of coverage on an employee benefit plan to differ for medical and mental health conditions. Simply put, coverage for mental health must be treated in the same way as cover for other medical conditions including surgery.

However, it is important to note that this only applies if the plan covers both mental and medical conditions. It doe not mean that all group health insurance plans must cover mental health treatments. Workers would be well advised to check their plans to be sure both are covered before filing claims for treatments.

In the past, it was legal for group health insurance coverage to place a limit of, for example, $250,000 on the treatment of medical conditions, whilst only allowing $15,000 for the treatment of medical health conditions.

This is no longer the case.

Treatments covered for mental health are diverse and should meet most workers’ needs. They include a stay in a mental health wing of a hospital. This might be for depression, schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress disorder. It also includes visits to a psychiatrist, psychologist or other licensed therapist. Stints in rehab for drugs and alcohol abuse are also included.

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