Mental health services wane as insurers appear to skirt parity rules during pandemic
Therapists and other behavioral health care providers cut hours, reduced staffs and turned away patients during the pandemic as more Americans experienced depression symptoms and drug overdoses, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The report on patient access to behavioral health care during the covid-19 crisis also casts doubt on whether insurers are abiding by federal law requiring parity in insurance coverage, which forbids health plans from passing along more of the bill for mental health care to patients than they would for medical or surgical care.
What a difference a year makes in Colorado’s case for a public option plan
Before the pandemic, Colorado looked set to become the second state to pass what s known as a public option health insurance plan, which would have forced hospitals that lawmakers said were raking in obscene profits to accept lower payments. But when covid-19 struck, legislators hit pause.
Now, after a year of much public lionizing of doctors and other health professionals on the front lines of the covid fight, it s a lot harder to make the case hospitals are fleecing patients. It is much more difficult now that we have this narrative of the health care heroes, said Sarah McAfee, director of communications for the Center for Health Progress, a Denver-based health advocacy organization that pushed for the public option. Part of this is separating the two: The people who are providing the health care are not the same as the corporations who are focused on the bottom line.
DENVER Before the pandemic, Colorado looked set to become the second state to pass what s known as a public option health insurance plan, which would have forced hospitals that lawmakers said were raking in obscene profits to accept lower payments. But when COVID-19 struck, legislators hit pause.
Now, after a year of much public lionizing of doctors and other health professionals on the front lines of the COVID fight, it s a lot harder to make the case hospitals are fleecing patients. It is much more difficult now that we have this narrative of the healthcare heroes, said Sarah McAfee, director of communications for the Center for Health Progress, a Denver-based health advocacy organization that pushed for the public option. Part of this is separating the two: The people who are providing the healthcare are not the same as the corporations who are focused on the bottom line.
The state of Washington recently created a similar new standardized insurance plan.
Significantly, the bill would also give the state the power to regulate how much hospitals and doctors can charge people enrolled in the new plans, something that only Washington has embraced in this way.
“The health care industry has really come to the table and has really been a partner throughout this process,” said state Rep. Iman Jodeh, a Democratic cosponsor.
Influencing the current system, not fundamentally changing it
The proposal attempts to use a complex series of regulations and rules to influence insurance prices and benefits in the health care market without changing the fundamental design of the system.
Time to say goodbye to some insurers’ waivers for Covid treatment fees
Just as other industries are rolling back some consumer-friendly changes made early in the pandemic think empty middle seats on airplanes so, too, are health insurers.
Many voluntarily waived all deductibles, copayments and other costs for insured patients who fell ill with Covid-19 and needed hospital care, doctor visits, medications or other treatment.
Setting aside those fees was a good move from a public relations standpoint. The industry got credit for helping customers during tough times. And it had political and financial benefits for insurers, too.
But nothing lasts forever.