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New law requires mental health insurance transparency

Delaware Public Media

Delaware’s new Mental Health Parity law goes beyond federal legislation to ensure mental health patients receive insurance benefits.

In 1996, President George H.W. Bush signed the Mental Health Parity bill into law prohibiting health insurers from discriminating coverage based on mental health and substance abuse disorders.

But Delaware’s new law now requires insurance companies to submit an annual report to the insurance commissioner showing mental health patients are receiving fair benefits.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Director Elizabeth Romero says the new transparency will make the law easier to enforce.

“You may have a mental health need but if the criteria that your insurance company decides to use to say that is medical necessity or not makes it difficult because sometimes people are denied access,” said Romero.

Hockessin Psychiatrist Dr. Neil Kaye says the law also goes further to define parity.

“You’re going to have to be able to have at least a certain number of visits, you’re going to have to have treatment provided for a certain number of diagnostic codes and most importantly there’s going to be accountability as long as the insurance commissioner and the attorney general do their job,” said Kaye.

Gov. John Carney signed Delaware’s Mental Health Parity Bill into law last week.

Now each year insurance companies must detail the limitations for mental health and substance abuse coverage and show those limitations do not differ from a basic medical plan.

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