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Last year, suicide remained the third leading cause<\/a> of death among young people age 10 to 24\u2014while 13% of high school girls and 6% of boys attempted suicide<\/a>. Also in 2023, only about half of Americans who needed mental-health care were able to receive it.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s why the Biden-Harris administration will announce a new final ruling on Monday that aims to make it easier for Americans to access mental health treatment<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese numbers are simply unacceptable,\u201d Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden told reporters in a Friday media call about the final ruling. \u201cBehind these statistics, of course, are real people who are struggling, and almost everyone knows someone\u2014a family member, a friend, or colleague\u2014struggling with mental health challenges.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While we know that treatment works, she added, \u201ctoo many Americans struggle\u201d to get the care they need, as it\u2019s so often not covered by their insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n The passing of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA<\/a>) into law was an attempt to address the issue of health insurers making it difficult for consumers to access in-network mental health coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n But in the years since, Tanden said, insurers have been evading the mandate of the law, and it\u2019s continued to be difficult for consumers to access that care. \u201cConsumers are often forced to seek out-of-network care at significantly higher costs and pay out of pocket, or defer care altogether,\u201d she noted, emphasizing that privately insured people with a mental health condition typically spend over $1,500 a year, out of pocket, to get the treatment they need.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tanden referred to a study which found that insured people are nearly four times as likely to be forced to go out-of-network to pay high fees for mental health care than for physical care. \u201cWe need to ensure that Americans can get treated for mental health just like they can get treated for a broken bone or a heart condition, and the Biden-Harris administration is making sure this happens,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s newly announced requirements aim to stop the \u201cindustry evasion\u201d of MHPAEA by strengthening it and enforcing it, she said, in order to help families get the same access to mental health and substance-use benefits as they do to those for their physical health.<\/p>\n The final rules, which have taken into account feedback from both the public and departments that have been enforcing MHPAEA, will reinforce that health plans cannot unfairly restrict treatment by using what are known as non quantitative treatment limitations (NQTL)\u2014meaning restrictions that are don\u2019t have a numerical value, as with those that, for example, limit the number of times a patient may see a provider. Non-quantitative restrictions may require things like prior authorization for a treatment or that a patient try an inexpensive treatment option before a more expensive one will be covered. And under MHPAEA, all treatments must be offered in parity\u2014meaning that the NQTLs (as well as all other types of restrictions) must be no more stringent for mental-health care than they are for medical\/surgical care.<\/p>\n The ways insurers restrict patients from receiving needed care are part of why so many therapists do not accept insurance<\/a>\u2014with other reasons including low reimbursement rates and administrative hassle. The new rules hope to address those issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Assistant Secretary of Employee Benefits Security at the Department of Labor Lisa Gomez, also on the media call, explained that the rules set to be released on Monday \u201cknock down barriers to mental health and substance-use disorder benefits\u201d by ensuring health-plan access that is equivalent to medical and surgical benefits. MPEA was supposed to have done that, Gomez said. The fact that it hasn\u2019t been able to, she said, \u201cis not fair, it\u2019s not right, and it\u2019s against the law.\u201d<\/p>\n She added, \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be harder for you to get care when you feel depressed than getting care when you have back pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to Well Adjusted, our newsletter full of simple strategies to work smarter and live better, from the Fortune Well team.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for free today.<\/div>\n