Mental Health and Addiction Parity: Ensuring Equal Coverage in Medicaid and Marketplace Plans

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an existing mental health and addiction crisis in this country. One that is fueling soaring rates of depression and anxiety, driving fatal overdoses, and changing the trajectory of countless young lives. Awareness of this impact is not enough. People need better access to quality, affordable mental health and addiction care now. Fortunately, the Biden Administration has prioritized enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires health plans in the individual, small and group markets, and health insurance issuers to cover mental health and addiction treatment no more restrictively than physical health treatment. In its 2022 report, the Department of Health and Human Services, with the Departments of Labor and Treasury identified numerous compliance issues that continue to serve as barriers to accessing needed care. While the Department of Labor enforces parity in employer-sponsored plans, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plays a critical role in helping to ensure parity in Medicaid managed care plans, Alternative Benefit Plans, Children’s Health Insurance Programs, ACA marketplace plans, and self-funded state and local government plans. These types of plans cover tens of millions of Americans, including a disproportionate number of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and children.

Featured Speaker: Xavier Becerra
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Xavier Becerra is the 25th Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the first Latino to hold the office in the history of the United States. As Secretary, he will carry out President Biden’s vision to build a healthy America, and his work will focus on ensuring that all Americans have health security and access to healthcare. Throughout his career, the Secretary has made it his priority to ensure that Americans have access to the affordable healthcare they need to survive and thrive – from his early days as a legal advocate representing individuals with mental illness, to his role as the Attorney General of the state of California. Secretary Becerra served 12 terms in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, he was the first Latino to serve as a member of the powerful Committee on Ways and Means, he served as Chairman of his party’s caucus, and as the Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health.

Moderator: David Lloyd
Senior Policy Advisor, The Kennedy Forum

Additional Panelists:
-Former U.S. Rep Patrick J Kennedy, Founder, The Kennedy Forum
-Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
-Patrice A. Harris, MD, M.A., Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, eMed;
Former President, American Medical Association (AMA)
-Shawn Coughlin, President and CEO, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare

Thank you to our lead sponsor, the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH).
NABH advocates for behavioral healthcare and represents provider systems that are committed to the delivery of responsive, accountable, and clinically effective prevention, treatment and care for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults with mental and substance use disorders. www.nabh.org

Thank you to participating sponsor, Ascellus.
Ascellus is the leading behavioral health platform focused on helping injured workers restore their physical and emotional wellbeing through a national network of 1,500 licensed clinicians, thus reducing costs for workers' compensation claims and empowering individuals to return to work sooner. www.ascellus.com

Видео Mental Health and Addiction Parity: Ensuring Equal Coverage in Medicaid and Marketplace Plans канала The Kennedy Forum