Mental health parity: 1998 national and state perspectives

Authors

Bruce Lubostsky Levin, University of South Florida
Ardis Hanson, University of South Florida
Richard Coe, New College of Florida
Ann C. Taylor, University of South Florida

Document Type

White Paper

Publication Date

3-1-1998

Keywords

Bruce Levin

Abstract

The federal Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 requires insurers to offer the same benefits for mental disorders and substance abuse as they would for physical disorders, including any annual or lifetime limitations and restrictions placed upon such coverage. To date, twenty states across the nation have enacted parity laws for mental health and/or substance abuse benefits. This report summarizes the essential issues facing the state of Florida in the development of state mental health parity legislation, including an examination of the experiences of other states, a look at potential benefits, and a discussion of the impact of managed care and insurance benefit design on the costs of parity for mental health benefits.

Comments

Any of this report may be reproduced or used as a part of another public domain publication with proper attribution to the authors of the report and to the Institute. Use in academic or commercial press requires permission from the Institute.

Rights Information

Terms of use for work posted in Scholar Commons.

Scholar Commons Citation

Levin, Bruce Lubostsky; Hanson, Ardis; Coe, Richard; and Taylor, Ann C., "Mental health parity: 1998 national and state perspectives" (1998). Community and Family Health Faculty Publications. 2.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cfh_facpub/2