Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed into law legislation requiring that insurers cover treatments for mental health at the same level as physical health.
State Representative Mike Harris says they wanted to codify the idea into state law.
“We thought it was a very important thing to bring some parity to mental health versus physical health,” Harris said. “We were seeing some differences in levels of coverage that dealt with mental health compared to how many visits you get for physical health things and some other aspects. So we wanted to make sure that things were even because we believe this is such a high priority nowadays.”
The new law seeks to close loopholes in coverage healthcare providers were using to deny treatments.
In addition to mental health being treated the same, substance abuse disorders will be as well.
The bill was sponsored by state Senator Sarah Anthony of Lansing.
