Prevents discrimination by insurers based on an individual's mental health or substance use disorder

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic26
• Republican1

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Samra Brouk says this is needed

New York State and federal law require health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder treatment the same way they cover physical health treatment. In 2008 the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was passed to prevent private insurance companies from instituting unequal coverage for mental health and substance disor- ders insurance plans. Nevertheless, insurance carriers circumvented the 2008 law by creating their own formulae for mental health and substance abuse disorder coverage exploiting loopholes in the law and virtually eliminating parity with physical health insurance coverage. Health insurance plans are not meeting the legal mandate for patients. This persistent problem must be addressed. New York State and our nation is facing a mental health crisis and insurance companies are failing patients in need despite the 2008 parity act. Many obstacles prevent our state's citizens from accessing the mental health care they need, and the demand for mental health services in recent years has exacerbated longstanding network inadequacy due to the lower rates insurance companies are willing to pay for this care.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.