The new law, expected to benefit 113 million Americans, will take effect Jan. 1, 2010. Businesses with less than 50 workers, though, are exempt from implementing the law.
The legislation was the result of 12 years of lobbying and negotiations among groups that advocated equal treatment of medical expenses for the mentally ill with the physically sick. It included the insurance industry, business community and doctors' groups.
Mental ailments like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder used to be lower on the payment totem pole that workers who had such illnesses often had to pay for treatment and medication from their pockets.
Under the new law, companies are prohibited from placing higher co-pays or deductibles for mental health and substance abuse treatment. Insurers are also barred from decreasing benefit levels or placing a limit on number of outpatient therapy sessions or hospital treatment days.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the new requirement will result to medical insurance premiums rising by an average of two-tenths of 1 percent.
The passage of the law was hailed by various groups. Doug Walter, counsel for legislative and regulatory affairs of the American Psychological Association, said, quoted by the Washington Post, "This is absolutely milestone legislation for those people who have mental health and substance abuse problems... It ends the discrimination against people who have long needed the help."
