President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed a new federal rule aimed at forcing private healthcare providers to provide more mental health coverage. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
July 25 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed new federal rules that would force private health insurers to increase coverage for mental health services for millions of Americans who lack care. The directive seeks to require insurers to make changes to benefits that were currently providing inadequate coverage and access to mental health care for more than 150 million people nationwide, the White House said in a statement. Advertisement
The new rules require health plans to remove limits to mental health care by offering more services in-network and bar them from using restrictive authorizations and other back-channel techniques that make it harder for patients to access mental health and substance abuse services.
The policy change would also close existing health coverage loopholes and, for the first time, force private health insurers to comply with federal rules in an effort to expand mental care.
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New federal rule aims to push private insurers to expand mental health care
