benefits are the same
In the easy case, this means “quantitative limits” – your co-pay cannot be higher for a behavioral health service than a physical health service.
Understanding Parity
(SAMHSA’s Family guide)
But not everything is the same
Things get trickier with Non-Qualitative Treatment Limits (NQTL). To figure that out requires a more complicated analysis.
Federal law
“The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA or Parity Law) promised equity in the insurance coverage of mental health and substance use disorder care, but years later mental health parity is still not a reality and too many Americans continue to be denied care when they need it the most. To fulfill the promise of the Parity law, we must hold health insurance plans accountable to comply with the letter and spirit of the law.”