New Biden Administration Rules Aim to Hold Insurers Accountable for Mental Health Care Coverage

The rules update the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was passed in 2008, requiring health insurance plans to provide the same access to mental health care as medical care. The new provisions will force health insurance plans to collect and report more robust data on how they limit and deny mental health claims. If disparities exist between mental and medical care, insurers will need to lay out how they are attempting to address these gaps.

“Mental health care is health care. But for far too many Americans, critical care and treatments are out of reach,” President Joe Biden said in a press release announcing the final rules. “There is no reason that breaking your arm should be treated differently than having a mental health condition.”