Mental Health Parity Bill May Be Diluted

OPEN MINDS The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst Industry News Recent interpretations of the Mental Health Parity Act, signed by President Clinton on September 26, 1996, and scheduled to go into effect on January I, 1998, may make it easy for employers to request and receive exemptions. At issue is whether employer exemptions from the act are to be based on actual or projected financial experience due to expanded mental health coverage. The bill, as originally signed last year, was seen at the time as a "landmark law" which required insurance companies to set the same annual and . . .