Merritt Personal Lines Manual: Mental Health Parity Act

The Mental Health Parity Act was enacted in 1996 for 5 years and required group plans that offered mental health benefits to provide the same level of coverage for such benefits that they provide for medical and surgical benefits. The act only applies to groups of 50 or more and did not apply to substance abuse or chemical dependency treatment. The act expired on Sept. 30, 2001 and has not been extended, although it continues to be discussed in Congress.

Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act was passed in 1996 and requires plans that provide coverage for maternity benefits to provide coverage for a minimum 48-hour (for normal vaginal birth) and 96-hour (for caesarean delivery) inpatient length of stay for a mother and her newborn following delivery.

Each state has its own regulations that govern the types of health policies that can be sold and what provisions those policies must or cannot have.