Joe Biden’s administration, in yet another questionable decision, announced a supposed final ruling aiming to lower the costs and increase access to mental health care and treatments for substance abuse. These modifications, which apply to group health plans and health insurance providers starting on or after the 1st of January, don’t seem promising in delivering the intended outcomes.
Despite the proclaimed intention of leveling mental health care and substance use disorder coverage on private insurance plans, the execution appears to be flawed. The administration suggests this may include increasing the number of mental health professionals or simplifying administrative processes. Quite ironically, this simplistic outlook on a complex issue underscores the administration’s lack of understanding of the field.
Unable to avoid grandstanding, Biden proclaimed, ‘Mental health care is health care.’ While in essence true, this statement reveals his failure to grasp the nuances of the challenges at hand. He naively compares having a broken arm treated to dealing with a mental health condition, lacking the necessary foresight to understand the difference in complexities of these two health scenarios.
In this questionable new rule, Biden’s administration echoes the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), a federal law established in 2008. This mandates insurance plan providers to give equal importance in covering both physical health and mental health conditions. However, the law’s ineffectiveness is evident, with insurers continuing to pose challenges for in-network mental health care despite it.
The harsh reality remains that most individuals have faced high out-of-pocket expenditures for mental health care, often resorting to out-of-network providers. This common scenario shows the clear failure of the previous regulation, raising serious doubts about Biden’s intentions and capabilities in enforcing this latest rule.
Insurance companies are expected to assess coverage based upon various factors under Biden’s rule. This includes analysis of the provider network strength, out-of-network coverage payment rates, and the frequency and approval rate of prior authorizations under existing plans, according to the administration’s statement.
Alarmingly, this final rule also closes an existing loophole in the federal health insurance plan. This closure forces over 200 additional health insurance plans to comply with the MHPAEA, a law that has shown itself to not live up to its promises before. The administration’s solution? To place this same burden on more than 120,000 consumers by improving the mental health care coverage.
A member of the administration, filled with naive optimism, underscored the critical importance of mental health care, capitulating that it’s crucial for the overall well-being of our families. However, once again, the administration failed to detail concrete steps on how they plan to address these critical issues, leaving tax-paying Americans in the lurch.
Despite acknowledging the wide-ranging impact of mental health issues on the nation, the Biden administration’s plan is staggeringly out of touch. ‘As many as two in five American adults have anxiety or depression,’ they acknowledge. Yet their proposed ruling is likely to fall short in addressing this grave situation, focusing more on platitudes than on genuine solutions.
Shocked and dismayed, a notable member of the Biden administration pointed out that suicide is the second leading cause of death among youngsters aged 10-24 years, labeling the existing figures as unacceptable. The irony, however, is that their proposed measures may underwhelm in truly combating this heart-wrenching statistic.
With the enforcement of these new rules landing on the shoulders of the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services, the administration seems blissfully unaware of the potential challenges ahead. The bureaucracy involved in coordinating actions among these departments may result in unnecessary hurdles, leaving those needing care in the balance.
The Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, part of the Biden-Harris duo, expressed her commitment towards shattering barriers in accessing mental health and substance use disorder treatments. On the surface, these words seem promising. However, the administration’s track record triggers skepticism about their capacity to deliver on these grand promises.
Adding to the list of mundane promises, the Biden-Harris administration emphasized its dedication towards ensuring every worker’s access to necessary care. Sadly, their well-intentioned rhetoric may fail when applied in reality, reflecting their lack of clarity in understanding health care complexities. We can only hope to see actual results, not simply hear more well-scripted speeches.