State RegulationsAZ specificDifficulty 2/5
A group health plan charges a substantially higher percentage copayment for outpatient mental health visits than for comparable outpatient medical and surgical visits. Under the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (45 CFR Parts 146 and 147), this design is:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why B is correct
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (45 CFR Parts 146 and 147) forbids applying financial requirements to mental health benefits that are more restrictive than those applied to the plan's medical and surgical benefits. A heavier copayment on mental health visits is exactly the disparity the parity rule prohibits, regardless of disclosure.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) Mental health benefits, once offered, must be provided on par with medical benefits; they are not discretionary add-ons free of parity rules.
- C) Disclosure does not cure a prohibited disparity in cost-sharing.
- D) The Act imposes no requirement of heavier mental health cost-sharing; it forbids it.
Memory hook
Heavier mental health copay = parity violation.