Behavioral health parity equals opportunity

The Supreme Court's decision in King v. Burwell and the ongoing discussion on the Affordable Care Act has kept the spotlight on federal health insurance laws. But even with laws like the Affordable Care Act, states will still play a major role in health insurance law and policy. Some experts have specifically expressed concerns around state behavioral health parity laws, and the variation that exists between them.

The fight over behavioral health parity is about fairness and access to high-quality behavioral healthcare. It is about ensuring equality in the way physical health services and behavioral health services are covered by insurance plans. In short, behavioral health parity means that if your health insurance plan doesn't cap physical health services, then it shouldn't be able to cap behavioral health services, either.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was signed into law in 2008 by President Bush. MHPAEA applies to many health insurance plans, and promises equal access to behavioral health services. Still, there are plans that are subject to state parity laws, instead, and these laws may not promise the same degree of access to behavioral health services. This presents a great opportunity for states to consider passing their own comprehensive parity laws.

Supreme Court Justice Louis B. Brandeis, and later Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, both advanced the idea of states as laboratories for legal and social change. With MHPAEA setting the stage for parity, states have the opportunity to experiment with parity laws that support the distinctive interests of their citizens.

The goal behind comprehensive parity laws cuts across ideologies and party lines. Parity provides the opportunity for people in need of critical behavioral health services to receive those services. It provides the opportunity to fight discrimination against the millions of people with behavioral health needs by ensuring equal access to healthcare.

Parity encourages fair reimbursement for behavioral health professionals for the invaluable work they do to keep people healthy. It also provides the opportunity for hospitals and other healthcare providers to improve the quality of care they offer by guaranteeing reimbursement for providing and integrating behavioral health services into patient care.

Parity provides businesses with the opportunity to support the health of employees and their families, and in turn to have healthy and productive employees. The list of opportunities that parity creates is extensive, and it continues to grow.

States can take advantage of these opportunities and advance comprehensive parity laws in many ways. Pennsylvania has passed a law requiring compliance with MHPAEA, but it could experiment with stronger laws that further increase access to behavioral healthcare.

Parity is much more than a footnote in the healthcare access debate. It means the opportunity to make things better for all Americans by ensuring equal treatment under the law.

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Joe Pyle is the President of the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation. William Emmet is the Executive Director of the Kennedy Forum.

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