The Obama administration issued new rules which will go into effect July 2010, that calls for parity coverage for the treatment of mental illness through employer and group insurance plans.  The rules carry out a law passed in 2008 sponsored by Wellstone and Domenici … what’s really amazing is that this legislation received bi-partisan support when it was originated — now that’s different!

Robert Pear in the January 30, 2010 The New York Times reported:

Insurers cannot set higher co-payments and deductibles or stricter limits on treatment for mental illness and addiction disorders. Nor can they establish separate deductibles for mental health care and for the treatment of physical illnesses.

The administration said the new requirements could increase premiums by four-tenths of 1 percent, or $25.6 billion over 10 years. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees are exempt.

The government said the rules would benefit 111 million people in 446,400 group health plans offered by private employers, and 29 million people in 20,000 plans sponsored by state and local governments.