Behavioral Health Insurance Parity: Does Oregon’s Experience Presage the National Experience with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act?

摘要

ObjectiveThe Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act prohibits commercial group health plans from imposing spending and visit limitations for mental health and substance abuse services that are not imposed on medical-surgical benefits. Controversially, the Act also restricts the use of managed care tools that apply to the behavioral health benefit in ways that differ from their application to the medical-surgical benefit. The only precedent for this approach is Oregon’s state parity law, implemented in 2007. The goal of this study is to estimate the effect of Oregon’s parity law on expenditures for mental health and substance abuse treatment services.