Behavioral Health Insurance Parity for Federal Employees

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 354; no. 13; pp. 1378 - 1386
• Main Authors: Goldman, Howard H, Frank, Richard G, Burnam, M. Audrey, Huskamp, Haiden A, Ridgely, M. Susan, Normand, Sharon-Lise T, Young, Alexander S, Barry, Colleen L, Azzone, Vanessa, Busch, Alisa B, Azrin, Susan T, Moran, Garrett, Lichtenstein, Carolyn, Blasinsky, Margaret
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 30-03-2006
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cost control; Cost Sharing; Federal employees; Federal Government; General aspects; Health Benefit Plans, Employee - economics; Health Benefit Plans, Employee - utilization; Health Care Costs; Health insurance; Health maintenance organizations; HMOs; Humans; Insurance Benefits - economics; Insurance coverage; Medical sciences; Mental health; Mental Health Services - economics; Mental Health Services - utilization; Miscellaneous; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Studies; Substance-Related Disorders - therapy; United States; United States; Medicine; Health insurance; Employee; Health policy; Government; Political aspect; Welfare aids; Behavior; Parity; Public health
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa053737

To improve insurance coverage of mental health and substance-abuse services, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program required parity between behavioral health and general medical benefits beginning in January 2001. This study found that the parity policy was not associated with an increase in the use of behavioral health services or an increase in spending for patients who used these services.
This study found that a parity policy was not associated with an increase in the use of behavioral health services or an increase in spending for patients who used these services.
Parity in insurance coverage for mental health services has been the Holy Grail of mental health policy for decades.
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Ever since President John F. Kennedy directed the Civil Service Commission to offer federal employees mental health benefits on the same basis as benefits for other medical services, parity has been a standard for excellent mental health insurance coverage. The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, like other competitive insurance markets, was unable to maintain equal coverage for mental health care because of high costs.
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Strictly limiting coverage for mental health and substance-abuse care is an effective means of controlling . . .