New Rules Promise Better Mental Health Coverage

For decades, many health plans have had limits on hospital inpatient days and outpatient visits for mental health treatments, but not for other types of care.

Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said the rules guaranteed that people with debilitating mental disorders would not suffer “needless or arbitrary limits on their care.”

The rules, which take effect on July 1, carry out a 2008 law that was adopted with bipartisan support. They significantly expand the rights of people with mental illness, much of which goes untreated because of insurance restrictions.

Under the rules, insurers can still review claims for “medical necessity,” can still require prior approval of some services and can still charge consumers more for using doctors and hospitals that are not on a list of preferred providers.

But under the rules, insurers cannot use these techniques in a more restrictive way for mental health care than for other medical services.