Mental health has been a major focus in health care in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. With many health-care providers taking a holistic approach to wellness that integrates both mental and physical health, employers have taken on a significant role in ensuring their employees have adequate access to services they need.

In 2008, the federal government passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) to ensure equitable coverage for employees through group health insurance plans. It has also built on the original provisions of that bill since then.

The bill created many requirements that employers must adhere to as they offer benefits to their employees. We’ll describe in more detail below what employers must do according to the law.

What is Mental Health Parity?

Mental Health Parity is all about creating an equitable situation for mental health and physical health benefits. According to the law, all mental health services have to be covered in the same exact way that physical services are in a company’s health insurance policy.

There are a few major aspects to this.

First, mental health coverage must have the same financial requirements as physical health coverage. This means that deductibles, coinsurance and co-pays must be the same.

It also must meet the same limitations for quantitative treatment, including any visit or day limits.

Finally, any nonquantitative treatment limitations (or NQTLs) for substance abuse disorder or mental health services can’t be more restrictive than they are for all other benefits. This relates to things such as step therapy, network composition and requirements for prior authorization.

How Can Employers Comply with These Regulations?

Mental Health Parity is actually quite complex and extensive, which creates challenges for employers to stay compliant. To make things simpler, there are three actionable steps that all employers should take to ensure compliance.

Make Information Accessible

Setting up the details of your employee benefits package is work that happens in the background, with the help of your HR and benefits team. Once all regulations are met and you’re in compliance, the next step is ensuring that your employees have easy access to all the information they would want.

Details about the benefits that are available should be easy for employees to gather and access whenever they want — and from wherever they are. That’s why it’s so important today to consider offering a benefits portal or other place online where employees can login to receive this information.

Take the extra step to provider explainer blogs, how-to guides and other content that easily shows employees what they can take advantage of and how. From a mental health perspective, focus your efforts on providing reminders about the importance of mental health and ways in which employees can tend to their mental health — both on their own time and through the benefits you offer.

Empower Employees and Leadership

Mental health should be an integral part of your company’s culture — not just a benefit you offer through health insurance. To create this culture, train the leaders of your company about the impact and importance of mental health as well as the role they can play in reinforcing awareness.

Encourage your employees to openly communicate about mental health in general, and to seek out help and support when they need it. Create an open-door policy for managers and HR teams so employees feel valued and heard if they’re ever struggling with a mental health issue.

Constantly Assess Benefits

Creating a benefits package and ensuring Mental Health Parity is not a one-and-done exercise. You should be constantly assessing your benefits to ensure they align not only with all applicable regulations, but that they serve your employee population as best as possible.

Of course, you’ll need to make changes and updates any time new compliance changes are handed down or new rules are passed. But, you should also stay in tune with changing trends in the mental health industry to decide whether new or changed offerings are appropriate.

By creating opportunities for employees to provide open feedback, you can also ensure that your mental health benefits reflect the needs and wants of your actual employees.

Ensure Mental Health Parity and Compliance with Beckham Ellis Insurance Group

Complying with Mental Health Parity laws and providing your employees with top-notch mental health benefits can be a complex task for any organization. When you partner with Beckham Ellis Insurance Group, you can ensure you are staying compliant and focusing on what’s important in employee benefits.

We have many years of experience crafting employee benefits packages that are compliant with all regulations and that are attractive to both current and prospective employees.