Biden takes aim at insurance companies skirting mental health care

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – The White House says health insurance companies are ignoring federal laws when it comes to covering mental health treatments and President Bident has new rules aimed at fixing the problem.

Biden announced proposed new rules to ensure health insurance companies cover mental health care the way the law requires.

"I don't know the difference between breaking your arm and having a mental health crisis," Biden said. "Patients are often forced to seek out-of-network care at significantly higher cost if they can find it."

Democratic Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow says insurance companies need to cover mental illness like any other illness.

"They're not supposed to be in a situation where they cover fewer visits if it's mental health," Stabenow said.

The White House says insurance companies are skirting the rules and indirectly blocking access to mental health care by imposing hurdles like excessive paperwork and limited numbers of in-network providers.

The new rules, if finalized, will require insurers to prove they're covering access to mental health and to reimburse those providers at appropriate rates.

The new rules will also close a loophole and include mental health coverage for state and local government employee health plans.

"Now we're making it clear, they have to follow the law as well," Biden said.

Stabenow added that the new rules will have a significant impact.

"One out of five people prior to COVID were people that would have a mental illness in their lifetime," Stabenow said.

President Biden says right now, about half of all adults and 70% of children with mental illness go untreated.