Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to ensure that financial requirements (such as co-pays, deductibles) and treatment limitations (such as visit limits) applicable to mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits are no more restrictive than the predominant requirements or limitations applied to substantially all medical/surgical benefits. MHPAEA supplements prior provisions under the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (MHPA), which required parity with respect to aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits for mental health benefits.
https://www.dol.gov/ebsa/mentalhealthparity/
- Mental Health Parity – Know Your Benefit Rights and Protections Webcast Archive
Since everyone who takes a opiate for > 90 days is now classified as suffering from a “opiate use disorder” this law would seem to apply to many/most/all chronic pain pts.
Is all the activity around putting opiate dosing limits in place by various entities… in violation of this FEDERAL LAW ?
Filed under: General Problems
Hmmm that probably is an angle that needs more investigation and research. I’ll check into it.