• Mental Health, Parity in Coverage for Patients

    The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) supports parity of health insurance coverage and payment for patients, regardless of medical or mental health diagnosis. Coverage for mental and behavioral health should not be carved out to networks that exclude family physicians. Health care plans should cover mental health care under the same terms and conditions as that provided for other medical care.  The AAFP supports giving federal agencies the ability to apply enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with mental health parity requirements. Payment for licensed behavioral health providers should be part of a patient's medical benefits when those services are delivered under the supervision of a primary care physician in an integrated behavioral health model. (1998) (October 2023 COD)