A practical roadmap for enforcing mental health and substance use parity in publicly funded health plans

States are legally required to ensure mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits are provided on par with medical and surgical care. Yet widespread noncompliance persists across managed care organizations (MCOs), alternative benefit plans (ABPs), and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans, limiting access to critical care for the millions of Americans using these plans.

This Gold Standard resource outlines clear, enforceable best practices for regulators and advocates to help states close parity gaps, strengthen oversight, and hold plans accountable.

What’s inside:

• Parity compliance best practices
• Ensuring parity compliance in contracts, benefit descriptions, and oversight frameworks
• 10 concrete actions states can take to ensure parity compliance
• MHPAEA-compliant plan model language, with real-world examples