Today, July 12, 2007, after 15 years of tremendous advocacy efforts, mental health parity passes the NC General Assembly!  This victory marks a historic day for North Carolina .  The final House vote was 114-2.  The bill will now go to the Governor for his signature, which should take place within the next several days.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.)    <!--[endif]-->HB 973 covers all group plans.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.)    <!--[endif]-->HB 973 covers 9 diagnoses at full parity – bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, paranoid and other psychotic disorder, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.)    <!--[endif]-->HB 973 covers all other mental illness diagnoses at financial parity – meaning deductibles, coinsurance factors, co-payments, maximum out-of-pockets as well as annual and lifetime limits must be the same for as physical illnesses.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.)    <!--[endif]-->Mental illness diagnoses not included in the 9 listed above may have different durational limits, but the minimum benefit required must provide for:

• <!--[if !supportLists]--> Thirty (30) combined inpatient and outpatient days per year and

• <!--[if !supportLists]--> Thirty (30) office visits per year

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.)    <!--[endif]-->The law becomes effective July 1, 2008.

Stay tuned for more updated and alerts from The Mental Health Association in NC.  For further questions, please contact Jennifer Mahan at (919) 981-0740 ext. 270 or email her at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it