Mental health parity is a concept that refers to the equal treatment of mental health and substance use disorder services compared to medical and surgical services in terms of insurance coverage. In the past, many insurance plans placed stringent limits on mental health services, such as higher out-of-pocket costs, visit limits, and restrictions on the types of treatments covered. This lack of parity often created barriers for individuals seeking mental health care, leading to delayed or inadequate treatment.
However, mental health parity laws have been implemented at both the federal and state levels to address these disparities. These laws require insurance plans to provide coverage for mental health and substance use disorder services that is comparable to coverage for physical health conditions. This means that insurance companies cannot impose stricter limitations or higher costs for mental health services than for medical services.