Economic grand rounds: Parity from the consumer perspective: implications for federal implementation from New York's...

This column reports results from a qualitative study of employees' knowledge of and access to mental health benefits after implementation of New York State's parity law in 2007. Fifty-four employed individuals with insurance coverage were interviewed by telephone (32 adults with mental illness and 22 parents of children with mental illness). Contrary to findings of previous studies, most had been informed of their coverage limits before the parity law but were unaware of their extended parity benefits. They cited their lack of knowledge and inadequate communication from their health plan as barriers to accessing benefits. They also reported barriers to accessing high-quality services. The findings indicate an urgent need for benefits education and monitoring of health plan communications on a federal level.