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Article: Do state parity laws reduce the financial burden on families of children with mental health care needs?(Mental Health and Substance Abuse)(Author abstract)
- Article from:
- Health Services Research
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Health Research and Educational Trust. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The intent of parity laws is to improve equity in private insurance coverage for mental health care. Health insurers have covered mental health care at a significantly lower level than coverage for other conditions for many years (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 1982; Jensen et al. 1998; Buck et al. 1999; Barry et al. 2003). Health plans commonly require higher cost sharing and impose special inpatient day and outpatient visit limits on service utilization for mental health treatment. By requiring equivalent levels of insurance coverage for mental health and general medical care, parity policies aim to broaden access to services while decreasing the financial burden ...