Impact Of Federal Parity Requirements On Behavioral Health Service Demand & Delivery: A Review Of The Current Literature

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008 requires employers that offer coverage for behavioral health services—inpatient, outpatient, emergency care, and prescription drugs—to apply the same plan design features to behavioral health that are applied to general medical health services. Implementation of parity requirements—set by federal parity requirements but interpreted by payers—will drive the behavioral health provider experience. As parity completes its projected roll-out in 2014, the key variable for providers is how payers choose to manage their beneficiaries' behavioral health benefits. Early indications are that the behavioral health benefits under parity . . .