Monday, July 18, 2005

Trends in Employer-Provided Mental Health and Substance Abuse Benefits Black Enterprise story - "Traditionally, employer-provided coverage for mental disorders and substance abuse treatment has been more restrictive than for other medical care benefits; recent data from the BLS National Compensation Survey show substantive changes in narrowing some of those differences, primarily as a result of State and federally- mandated benefits. Employer-provided mental health coverge has experienced dramatic changes ver the last decade. Prior to the passage of the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) of 1996, nearly all employer-financed health insurance plans covered mental disorders, but benefits were traditionally more restrictive than for other illnesses.1 Coverage for mental disorders, for example, was usually for shorter periods, and plans generally provided lower annual and lifetime maximum dollar benefits..."