Ohio, New York Governors Sign Mental Health Parity Bills

The governors of Ohio and New York recently signed into law mental health parity bills. Summaries of the news coverage appear below.

• Ohio Gov. Bob Taft (R) on Friday signed into law a bill that requires health insurers in the state to offer the same coverage for mental illnesses as they do for physical illnesses, the AP/Akron Beacon Journal reports (AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 12/30/06). The law applies to coverage of the diagnosis, care and treatment of mental illnesses (Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/30/06). Seven “biologically based mental illnesses” are covered under the law, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Insurance companies can opt out of the law’s requirements if they demonstrate that it increased the cost of coverage by more than 1% over six months. Taft, who leaves office next week, opposed a similar bill two years ago because of concerns about the potential cost to businesses (AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 12/30/06). Taft on Friday said, “I just learned a lot more about the issue in terms of the cost of untreated mental illness (and) the effectiveness of treatment to help people lead normal productive lives in our society,” adding that he “understood that the benefits of this bill greatly outweigh whatever minimal increased costs would occur in terms of health insurance” (Provance, Toledo Blade, 12/30/06). However, Ty Pine, Ohio director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said Taft “has dealt a disappointing blow to small-business owners who are already struggling to provide any level of coverage and who will now face yet another hurdle in their efforts to provide basic health care benefits to their employees” (Nash, Columbus Dispatch, 12/30/06).
• New York: Former Gov. George Pataki (R) on Dec. 22, 2006, signed into law a bill that requires insurance companies to provide mental health coverage at the same level and out-of-pocket cost as other coverage, the New York Times reports (Pérez-Peña, New York Times, 12/23/06). Under the law, every insured person will receive coverage for a minimum of 20 outpatient visits and 30 inpatient days per year for mental health care. The state will pay the additional mental health care costs for businesses with 50 or fewer employees — estimated up to $60 million. Larger employers will be required to provide unlimited treatment for adults with schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, delusional disorders, panic disorder, bulimia and anorexia. Larger employers also will have to provide coverage for those conditions for people younger than age 18, in addition to coverage for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, disruptive behavior disorders and pervasive developmental disorders. Smaller employers will be allowed to opt into the extended coverage required for large employers (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/7/06). According to the Times, the law’s effect will be “narrower than it appears” because plans offered by most large insurers and unions usually are “governed by federal law, which exempts them from state laws” (New York Times, 12/23/06).

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