The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act is a federal law that prevents group health plans that offer mental health or substance addiction benefits from imposing less favorable limits on those benefits than on medical/surgical benefits. This means that the financial requirements (copays, deductibles, etc.) and treatment limits in a health plan must be comparable for physical and mental health/substance addiction benefits. More information for employers about the MHPAEA is available by clicking here.
The Department of Labor offers several resources for employees to help explain their rights to mental health benefits. If employees have questions about mental health resources or benefits, employers may wish to direct them to www.samhsa.gov