Administration Seeks to Improve Access to Mental Health Care

New regulations introduced by the Department of Health and Human Services would require health insurers to improve access to mental health services for their members. The newly proposed regulations seek to strengthen the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act by requiring health care payers to analyze their members’ access to mental health services by looking at their medical management processes, the adequacy of their provider networks, and the rates they pay those providers.  This, HHS believes, would help ensure that insured individuals’ access to such services is as good as their access to physical health care services.  Insurers [...]