On May 21, 2024, Gov. Whitmer signed Senate Bill 27 into law. The bill mirrors the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), in that it requires insurers regulated by the state to cover mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatments in the same way as physical health coverage. The state passed this law partly as a hedge against the possibility that Congress repeals MHPAEA.
The law requires insurers that deliver, issue for delivery, or renew in this state a health insurance policy to provide coverage for mental health and substance use disorder services. Any quantitative limits imposed on those services can be no more restrictive than those imposed on physical health coverage, and nonquantitative limits can be imposed if the processes, strategies, evidentiary standards, or other factors used in developing and applying the nonquantitative treatment limitation to mental health or substance use disorder benefits in the same classification are comparable to, and are applied no more stringently than, the processes, strategies, evidentiary standards, or other factors used in developing and applying the limitation with respect to medical/surgical benefits in the same classification. Benefits must meet all applicable federal parity requirements, and those that meet the federal requirements are considered to meet the requirements under the state law.
Employers with policies issued by insurers licensed in the state should be aware of this law.
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