ACA Attends Congressional Briefing on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

Recently ACA attended the Congressional Briefing “Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act: What Has Changed (and Hasn’t) 15 Years Since Passage,” sponsored by REDC.  Since the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) in 2008, insurance companies have been slow to implement the coverage of mental health services. This briefing discussed what the federal government and states have done since the passage to ensure Americans have access to mental health services, specifically those with an eating disorder.

To ensure mental health coverage of insurance companies and remove denials of claims, in 2019 the Department of Labor clarified facility types under non-quantitative treatment limitation (NQTL). In addition, speaker Faith Carlson, an LPC specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, discussed the client impact of the failures of insurance to comply with the MHPAEA.

As a counselor, you have a role in advocating for expansion and assurance of mental health services: for instance, advocating for early detection of signs of mental health symptoms in primary healthcare. Faith Carlson suggests training physicians to screen for disordered eating – including getting doctors to ask, “How’s your eating?"

For more information or any questions, please contact the ACA Government Affairs team at advocacy@counseling.org.