NY AG Schneiderman Takes Stand for Mental Health Parity
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The New York Attorney General (AG) website, AG Eric T. Schneiderman announced a settlement with New York’s EmblemHealth, Inc., demanding the insurer to comply with parity laws. AG Schneiderman is requiring the company to reform their behavioral health appeals review process and to submit previously denied mental health and substance abuse treatment claims for independent …
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MPP and UMD Drug Policy Clinic Review QHPs for Parity Compliance
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The Maryland Parity Project worked with the University of Maryland Drug Policy Clinic to analyze the [tippy title=”Qualified Health Plans” header=”on”]QHPs are private health benefit plans that are certified by Maryland Health Connection.[/tippy] (QHPs) for sale on the Maryland Health Connection to determine their compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). …
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UM School of Law Develops Parity & Addiction Equity Resource Guide
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Student-attorneys of the University of Maryland Carey School of Law Drug Policy Clinic, Darci Smith and Will Dwyer, have created a Parity Act Resource Guide to assist providers and consumers with federal and state parity regulations that are currently in place. The Guide also has tips for identifying parity violations, disclosure provisions and how to submit …
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Parity Project Director Presents Webinar
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On Wednesday, May 15th, Maryland Parity Project Director, Adrienne Ellis, along with UMD Carey Law School Professor of Law, Ellen Weber presented a webinar, Health Care Reform: Critical Issues for Newly Insured Behavioral Health Consumers sponsored by NAMI-MD. Ellis and Weber discussed some of Health Care Reform critical issues for behavioral health consumers such as …
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Health Affairs Release Important Parity Brief
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Leading peer reviewed journal, Health Affairs, explores critical health science topics and disperse information in the form of a brief. Recently, Health Affairs released a brief on mental health parity. The article highlighted the history of the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) and the Mental Health Parity Addiction and Equity Act (MHPAEA). MHPAEA is very …
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New York Attorney General Holds Insurer Accountable For Parity Violations
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New York Attorney General took a major step forward in the enforcement of the Federal Parity Law in the states, issuing a landmark decision against an insurer in NY for violations of the parity law, one of the first such actions in the states. After an investigation into potential violations by MVP Health Care and …
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Medicare Makes Positive Parity Steps
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As mental health advocates applauded the release of final parity ruling for private and marketplace health plans, others were still concerned about of a group consumers who were not awarded the same consumer protections – Medicare recipients. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was originally written to provide consumers who have a mental …
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Maryland Legislator Requests Insurance Commissioner to Perform Market Conduct Reviews to Assess Parity Compliance
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Delegate Pete Hammen, Chair of the House of Delegates Health and Government Operations Committee has always been a strong supporter of mental health and substance use disorder parity. Upon requests of behavioral health advocates he sponsored HB1001, Health Insurance- Federal and State Mental Health and Addiction Parity Laws- Report on Compliance, ( fact sheet) which …
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Be Wary of Narrow Networks in New Health Plans
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The Affordable Care Act will decrease the number of uninsured Americans, increase access to quality health care and to shed light on the value of prevention. The requirement that insurers provide affordable and quality health care is a vast improvement for consumers, but as insurers are finding ways to handle the influx of new policyholders …
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Funds to Improve Access to MH Services
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On December 10th, Vice President Biden reinforced the Obama Administration’s plan to improve access to mental health care by announcing $100 million will be dedicated to increasing access to mental health services and improving mental health facilities. Over the past years, the Administration has worked to diminish mental health stigma with nationwide discussions. Less than …
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The Fight for Parity in Vermont
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The American Psychiatric Association and Vermont Psychiatric Association officials recently asserted that BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont is in violation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 by setting reimbursement rates for psychiatrists below those for primary care and implementing restrictive prior authorization requirements. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont requires prior …
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Reactions to Final Parity Ruling
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On November 8th, 2013, the parity implementation ruling was finally released to address behavioral health discrimination. The long awaited ruling has garnered reactions among lawmakers, behavioral health advocates, agencies, and insurance carriers. The Obama Administration Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, confidently announced, “we are finally closing those gaps.” Although …
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