Why Don’t We Have Mental Health Parity?

The law says insurance companies must pay for mental health benefits the same as they do everything else. Addiction as much as diabetes. Depression as much as cancer. But around the country, consumers are taking their insurers to court saying the companies are refusing to pay up. The insurance providers say mental health is complicated, and keeping costs down is part of their job.

What does this mean for patients? Kaiser Health News reporter Jenny Gold discusses the complex issue on NPR’s On Point.

Read More on Mental Parity:

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<h1>Why Don’t We Have Mental Health Parity?</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2015-08-27T16:14:10-04:00">
			August 27, 2015		</time>
		</div>
<p>The law says insurance companies <a href="http://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/parity/">must pay for mental health benefits</a> the same as they do everything else. Addiction as much as diabetes. Depression as much as cancer. But around the country, consumers are taking their insurers to court saying the companies are refusing to pay up. The insurance providers say mental health is complicated, and keeping costs down is part of their job.</p><p>What does this mean for patients? Kaiser Health News reporter <a href="http://kffhealthnews.org/news/author/jenny-gold/">Jenny Gold</a> discusses the complex issue on <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/08/27/why-dont-we-have-mental-health-parity">NPR’s On Point</a>.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Read More on Mental Parity:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="http://kffhealthnews.org/news/achieving-mental-health-parity-slow-going-even-in-pace-car-state/">Achieving Mental Health Parity: Slow Going Even In ‘Pace Car’ State</a></li><li><a href="http://kffhealthnews.org/news/advocates-say-mental-health-parity-law-is-not-fulfilling-its-promise/">Advocates Say Mental Health ‘Parity’ Law Is Not Fulfilling Its Promise</a></li><li><a href="http://kffhealthnews.org/news/battle-for-mental-health-parity-produces-mixed-results/">Battle For Mental Health Parity Produces Mixed Results</a></li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><img src="https://ssl.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&t=event&ec=Republish&tid=UA-53070700-2&z=1713525230034&cid=8c3d8947-b406-4b5b-aba2-5dea4bba7518&ea=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2Fnews%2Fwhy-dont-we-have-mental-health-parity%2F&el=Why%20Don%E2%80%99t%20We%20Have%20Mental%20Health%20Parity%3F"/>

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