Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come—as a society and an industry—in acknowledging and treating mental health. It’s also a reminder of the work ahead. Studies indicate that patients wait, on average, 11 years between symptom onset and treatment.

One factor contributing to that delay is a lack of parity between mental and physical healthcare. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) mandates that insurance benefits for mental health or substance use disorders must be equivalent to those for medical/surgical conditions. Enforcing that law has been difficult, but recent MHPAEA updates aim to strengthen the legislation.

Improving access to mental healthcare requires a team effort. It will take investment, innovation, and—in May and every month—greater awareness. And as Erika Mortenson Saxon explains in her analysis of the MHPAEA Final Rule, payers must be part of the solution.

Sincerely,