labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Do you have health insurance provided through your employer?  Does your plan cover mental health care?  If it does, a recent update to the law will interest you.

Louisiana employee benefit plans are affected by a recent low profile decision concerning group health insurance.  The MHPA, or the Mental Health Parity Act, has been extended through the very end of this year.  The president recently signed his approval to extend the 1996 bill until December 31st.

Millions of Americans are provided health care coverage through their employers.  The Employee Benefits security Administration, or EBSA, enforces the federal regulations regarding all of the various group health care plans that are employer provided.  The MHPA states that any group health insurance plan that provides the funding for mental health treatment has to do so at an equal rate as it covers other medical treatments, including surgery.

In 1986, EBSA was actually called PWBA, or the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.  Before that, when it began in 1974, it was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Program.  The Employee Benefits security Administration is currently the most appropriate name, because they deal with just as many health care issues as they do pension problems.

Normally, mental health insurance covers psychiatric visits, drug or alcohol rehabilitation, and inpatient mental health care (in a hospital or mental health facility).  Treatments for depression and post-traumatic stress are also often covered.  Regardless of which treatment is being covered, it should not be covered at a lower rate than medical types of treatment.

The annual limits on mental health must also be at least equal to those of other medical treatments.  If the annual limit for the coverage of surgery is $120,000 that has to be the minimum at which mental health treatment is covered.  Anything less than that would be a violation of the law.

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