The Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act: What Are the Research Implications for Employers and EAPs?
Abstract
The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act passed into law on October 3, 2008. This federal law requires employers that offer mental health and addiction coverage to do so on the same terms and conditions as those benefits offered for medical and surgical care. This research brief describes the core provisions of the Act, the findings from research on the impact of parity on benefits use and costs, and the implications of this research for employers and employee assistance programs (EAPs).Table of Contents
Introduction. 1) Core Provisions of the Parity Act. 2) High Prevalence of Behavioral Health Problems in the Workplace. 3) Low Utilization of Benefits for Mental Health and Addictions. 4) Research Studies on the Impact of Parity Laws and Policies. 5) Findings from Actuarial Research Studies on Parity. 6) Findings from Retrospective Research Studies on Parity. 7) Implications for Employers. 8) Implications for EAPs. 9) Conclusions. 10) Resources. 11) References (21)Description
Research report (5 pages) and slides (25) from a live audio presentation.Citation
Attridge, M., & Amaral, T. (2010, January). The Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act: What are the research implications for employers and EAPs? EAP Advanced Training Institute’s Research Brief: Research Series Part 1 of 4. Yreka, CA: EAP Technology Systems.Series/Report No.
EAP Advanced Training Institute’s Research Brief Series;1Sponsors
EAP Technology SystemsKeyword
EAPliterature review
Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act
Employee assistance programs
Research