LD 566
pg. 17
Page 16 of 20 An Act to Ensure Equality in Mental Health Coverage Page 18 of 20
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LR 22
Item 1

 
(3) If benefits and coverage for the treatment of
physical illness are provided on an expense-incurred
basis, the benefits and coverage required under this
subsection may be delivered separately under a
managed care system.

 
(4)__A policy or contract may not have separate
maximums for physical illness and mental illness,
separate deductibles and coinsurance amounts for
physical illness and mental illness, separate out-of-
pocket limits in a benefit period of not more than 12
months for physical illness and mental illness or
separate office visitation limits for physical
illness and mental illness.

 
(5)__A health benefit plan may not impose a
limitation on coverage or benefits for mental illness
unless that same limitation is also imposed on the
coverage and benefits for physical illness covered
under the policy or contract.

 
(6)__Copayments required under a policy or contract
for benefits and coverage for mental illness must be
actuarially equivalent to any coinsurance
requirements or, if there are no coinsurance
requirements, not greater than any copayment required
under the policy or contract for a benefit or
coverage for a physical illness.

 
(7)__For the purposes of this section, medication
management visits associated with a mental illness
must be covered in the same manner as a medication
management visit for the treatment of a physical
illness and may not be counted in the calculation of
any maximum outpatient treatment visit limits.

 
This subsection does not apply to policies, contracts or
certificates covering employees of employers with 20 or fewer
employees, whether the group policy is issued to the employer,
to an association, to a multiple-employer trust or to another
entity.

 
This subsection may not be construed to allow coverage and
benefits for the treatment of alcoholism and other drug
dependencies through the diagnosis of a mental illness listed
in paragraph A.

 
Sec. 21. 24-A MRSA §4234-A, sub-§7, as amended by PL 1995, c. 637,
§7, is further amended to read:


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