Paper details “Mental health parity” is a term used to describe health insurance plans where there is equal insurance coverage for mental health and general medical care. Up through the late 2000s, insurance coverage for mental health care was less comprehensive than that for general medical care. The main argument against mental health parity was the concern that more generous coverage of these services would result in large increases in spending
Why was there concern that health care spending would increase with mental health parity?
Would that spending be inefficient? Why or why not?
Who bears the costs of these expanded benefits and how are they borne?
You are an economic analyst working on staff at the FEHBP program, and you’ve been asked to suggest policy or programs to implement along with mental health parity to minimize wasteful spending on mental health care. Make two recommendations and justify why you’ve selected them.
