Representatives from The Kennedy Forum, Third Horizon, and the American Medical Association helped audiences understand how to navigate the Mental Health Parity Index, a remarkable new tool that the organizations launched to aid transparency about gaps in mental health care. More than156 million Americans with commercial insurance are often forced out-of-network for mental health treatment, and provider reimbursement remains lopsided between physical and mental health. This tool enables anyone to view updated data about these key mental health coverage issues, drawn from commercial insurer data.
Former congressman and The Kennedy Forum co-founder Patrick J. Kennedy kicked things off, discussing how new transparency mandates and emerging technological advancements will allow us to improve mental health and substance use disorder care.
“This whole initiative is about building a framework, utilizing these transparency rules and the law to try and advance this space,” Patrick said. “It will allow those decision-makers to allocate resources in those places where there’s the greatest deserts of access.”
Watch the video to understand:
- How the data is broken down, and what is possible to evaluate with the Index
- The most interesting data points that Index creators and analysts have found
- Day-to-day applications for providers, advocates, employers, and lawmakers
- What is possible with expansion of the Mental Health Parity Index nationwide
What’s next?
The Mental Health Parity Index is poised for nationwide expansion, with rapid progress enabled through the initial template in Illinois. As we explore how to achieve coast-to-coast views of transparency metrics in the United States, we are actively seeking leaders, partners, and advocates to help us make necessary progress, enhancing mental health transparency in an unprecedented step for patients and providers.
For more information about how we can grow the Mental Health Parity Index footprint, please contact info@thekennedyforum.org to learn more.
