Compliance with new federal parity laws may increase America’s corporate insurance costs by as much as 40% over 2009 claims expenditures.  The Federal Mental Health Parity (MHP) and Addiction Equity Act of 2008—which was included in the Recovery Act—attempts to place mental health benefits on equal footing with medical benefits.

“Preparation for Federal Mental Health Parity Regulations is the key to cost control,” says Dr. Ann Clark, CEO of ACI Specialty Benefits.  “Since an additional 118 million people will now have access to mental health benefits, parity is expected to increase mental health utilization by employees and family members as much as over 40% from the previous year.”

ACI’s Navigation: Parity Planning: A measurement tool for projecting and controlling costs related to the new federal mental health parity

1. Evaluation of the company’s behavioral health benefit structure and compliance levels with existing state mental parity laws
2. In-depth assessment of projected impact of federal parity including:
   • Compliance procedures and cost
   • Projected increases in mental health utilization
   • Evaluation of ongoing utilization under the new law
   • Recommendation for ongoing system changes in benefit planning
   • A measurement tool for projecting potential costs related to parity-based on utilization, including type of referral, type of service and frequency of service.
   • A summary of recommendations for mitigating costs related to MHP compliance and services, including best practices and least restrictive access to care.
   • An ongoing quality assurance plan to insure customer needs are being met and satisfaction is high.
   • A creative suite of services that may include: case management, in-depth triage, advice/triage hotlines, in-depth initial diagnosis, utilization management and behavioral health integration.
   • Seamless integration with existing services and cost favorable pricing.

ACI’s goal is to provide corporations with a strategic consultation and planning service so that they are aptly prepared for changes to behavioral and mental health care delivery in compliance with new state and federal parity mandates while mitigating cost increases.

Webinar

For more information, please join ACI in an informative webinar presentation: “Navigation 2010: Right choices for lower costs with parity.” Webinars will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 and the following Wednesday, April 29, 2009 . Visit www.acispecialtybenefits.com/navigation-webinar.php to sign up and learn more.