Mental Health Parity and Medicare

The Department of Health and Human services just announced that full mental health treatment parity with medical care will now apply to all non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group health insurance market. That is, coverage for treatment of mental health and substance abuse conditions must be the same as for medical conditions. Larger groups have been subject to mental health parity requirements for several years.

But what about Medicare? Heaven knows as many of us seasoned citizens are off our rockers as are rocking on our rockers. Here is the Medicare coverage for mental health care:

For mental health services covered under Part A, you pay the standard Part A deductibles and coinsurance.
• For mental health services covered under Part B, you pay your yearly Part B deductible. The amount of coinsurance you pay for Part B mental health services depends on the services you get:
– For visits to a doctor or other health provider to diagnose your condition, you pay 20% of the Medicare- approved amount.
– For outpatient treatment of your condition (such as psychotherapy), you pay 40% of the Medicare-approved amount in 2012. How much you pay for these services will decrease to 35% in 2013 and 20% in 2014.
– If you get your services in a hospital outpatient clinic or department, you may have to pay an additional copayment or coinsurance amount to the hospital. This amount will vary depending on the service provided.
• How much you pay for prescription drugs will vary depending on the Part D plan you may have.
If you have limited income and resources, you may qualify for Extra Help paying your Medicare prescription drug coverage costs.