Paul Wellstone And Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity And Addiction Equality Act

What Does Paul Wellstone And Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity And Addiction Equality Act Mean?

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equality (MHPAE) Act is a law that was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2008 to ensure that mental health and substance abuse issues receive equal consideration as medical and surgical benefits from group insurance and insurance issuers.

Insuranceopedia Explains Paul Wellstone And Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity And Addiction Equality Act

Historically, before MHPAE was passed, there were different requirements for mental health and substance abuse coverage from employee group insurance. They were often more restrictive compared to coverage for other health issues. The passage of this law amended that (even though there are still exceptions, such as for a private workplace with less than 50 employees) by covering mental health and substance abuse the same way as physical medical issues.