New Law Will Improve Mental Health Coverage

Good news for millions of Americans with employer-provided health insurance: this year Congress will likely pass legislation that will significantly improve coverage for mental health care. The new law will require most employer-provided health insurance plans to cover mental health treatment at the same level as other types of treatment. So, for example, if the insurance provides unlimited office visits for cancer treatment, they will need to provide unlimited visits for treatment of a mental disorder if that treatment is deemed medically necessary.

This law will not affect people who pay for their own insurance or who work for a company with 50 or less employees. Still, this is good news for many people with BPD, who often need more than the limited number of visits covered by many health plans. For more on the new law, read Robert Pear's synopsis, published in the New York Times.