American health insurance policies now cover substance abuse
The US secretary of health and human services has said that private medical insurance must cover substance abuse. On Friday 8th November 2013 the Obama administration announced new rules requiring insurance companies to provide treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues. Until now private healthcare in America only had to cover physical injuries and illness, not mental health or addictions.
Kathleen Sebelius unveiled the new regulations, which aim to cover most medical conditions. Around 85% of Americans pay for private medical insurance; however, until now, many would not be eligible to receive treatment under their insurance terms for conditions affecting the mind.
The new regulations place treatment for mental health and substance abuse among the ten categories of benefits that are now considered essential in health insurance plans.
Many insurers already offer cover for mental health problems, but others deliberately avoid covering these issues and deny payment for treatment. Treatment for mental health problems can be very costly due to the fact that patients often require some form of personal counselling.
The new laws were originally passed in Congress in 2008 as part of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was drawn up to help combat gun violence. It has taken five years to make the new regulations law.
Some opponents to the changes feel that providing these services will place a high burden on the private health system; however, those defending the changes point out that it is only a small percentage of policyholders who ever require treatment for mental health problems and substance abuse. The treatment is expensive; however, it is not very common and the benefits to society in providing this level of care could be significant.