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Health & Fitness

Joyce Mental Health Parity Bill Receives Committee Hearing

BOSTON – More than a decade after Senator Brian A. Joyce and the Massachusetts Legislature enacted mental health parity laws, which require insurers to provide equal coverage to mental health issues as they do physical ones, some insurers are still illegally denying residents access to equal treatment prescribed under the law. However, a bill introduced by Senator Joyce to grant an individual legal recourse against these insurers is now beginning to gain momentum after receiving a hearing before the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. The legislation would allow individual or class action lawsuits against an insurer and allow for the recuperation of court costs, attorneys’ fees and damages should the courts find the insurer illegally denied mental health treatment provided under the law.

“Enacting mental health parity in Massachusetts has, unfortunately, not been fully embraced by all insurers and some residents have struggled to have their rights recognized,” said Joyce. “The bill will not require any additional work from insurance companies already abiding by the law; it will simply offer a legal recourse if an insurer is denying mental health treatments for which residents are entitled.”

The bill has earned the support of numerous advocacy organizations, like The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR), Children’s Mental Health Campaign, Health Care for All, the MA Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and others. It also has 25 legislative co-sponsors between the state Senate and House.

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“[The legislation] empowers Massachusetts residents and assures health care rights are universal and protected. At no cost to the Commonwealth, this bill makes room for changes in treatment services and affirms that our state will not tolerate health service inequity,” said Laurie Martinelli, Executive Director of (NAMI) of Massachusetts.

In 2008, the federal government passed similar legislation requiring insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders equal to physical ailments. Though the law passed, many insurers will deny more expensive plans, such as inpatient treatments, or require facilities to comply with stringent and burdensome guidelines that place an excessive burden on providers.

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