City, county step up mental health coverage
Employees of
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was signed into law in 2008 and requires insurance coverage for mental health conditions and substance use disorders to be no more restrictive than insurance coverage for medical conditions.
Opting into parity protections means employees and their families are protected under laws previously unavailable to them. Employees enrolled in the city's or county's health plans can now challenge denials of mental health or substance use services they believe should be covered.
As of May, there were 4,921 employees covered under the county's health plan. Including family members, the total number of people covered was 10,201, according to data provided by the county.
In April, the city recorded 10,453 people enrolled in its health insurance. Active employees accounted for 3,562 people enrolled, dependents for 6,034 and there were 857 retired employees covered under the health plan, according to city data.
The change came about after efforts by Mental Health America of
The advocates say they hope the 13 other
Two years ago, Gov.
“The federal parity law is, at its core, a landmark antidiscrimination law,”
Advocates say access to care, including for those with insurance, remains a major barrier in
Research shows that Arizonans are 10 times more likely to go out-of-network for inpatient behavioral health facilities than for medical or surgical facilities, and nearly seven times more likely to go out-of-network for outpatient behavioral health facilities, which ends up costing more money out of pocket.
While problems still exist with the system, mental health advocates say the decisions by the city and county are big steps forward.
"We applaud that leadership,"
Crow said she and others worked closely with
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