Legal framework for Mental Health insurance in the US and its De icits By Tanisha Malhotra, Year 11 North London Collegiate
M
ental health essentially refers to the overall well-being of a person, but mental health conditions are becoming
increasingly common in America. In 2018, over 43 million Americans suffered from mental health conditions and 30.4 million persons of all ages were uninsured. The lack of affordable mental health care has had a great hand in the severity of the problem. While there are number of reasons why mental health conditions are affecting so many people, the lack of access to mental health care services and a shortage of affordable providers has been a big cause. To find the root of this problem, first we must look at mental health law in America. It is true that the number of Americans that have been receiving treatment has increased, the primary reason being the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is made up of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its amendment, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and it covered mental health under the 10 Essential Health Benefit categories, along with substance abuse disorder services. It amended the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA), which legally required all large-group insurance plans to cover mental health services in parity with medical/surgical treatment. The ACA expanded parity in mental healthcare for those with plans from individual or small group markets, expanded access
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