Behavioral Health Parity and the Affordable Care Act

TLDR

Before the MHPAEA and ACA, 49 million Americans were uninsured, and employer‑sponsored plans frequently excluded mental health or substance use treatment, with even higher noncoverage rates in individual markets and limited private benefits. The MHPAEA and ACA increased overall coverage and expanded mental health and substance abuse benefits.

Abstract

Prior to the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), about 49 million Americans were uninsured. Among those with employer-sponsored health insurance, 2% had coverage that entirely excluded mental health benefits and 7% had coverage that entirely excluded substance use treatment benefits. The rates of noncoverage for mental and substance use disorder care in the individual health insurance markets are considerably higher. Private health insurance generally limits the extent of these benefits. The combination of MHPEA and ACA extended overall health insurance coverage to more people and expanded the scope of coverage to include mental health and substance abuse benefits.