How Affordable Care Act Helps People with Mental Illness and Private Insurance

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides protections that benefit people with mental illness who have private insurance, according to The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

Under the provisions of the Act, children younger than 19 cannot be denied health insurance because of a mental or physical health problem. Young adults can be on their parents’ private insurance until they turn 26.

Your insurance cannot be canceled because you get sick – this includes mental illness. If you have been uninsured for six months and have a mental illness, or any other health problem, you can buy insurance through the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). PCIP will end in 2014 when insurers cannot deny anyone insurance because of a mental or physical health problem.

Beginning in 2014, mental health services will be an essential health benefit. This means that all insurance plans must cover these services, and pay for them at the same rate that they pay for medical and surgical services.

To find out more about private insurance and mental illness under the ACA, visit The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati’s website.

Funding for Join Together is provided in part by an unrestricted educational grant from The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.