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The Expansion of the CA Mental Health Parity Act's Requirements for Treatment of Eating Disorders
In 1999, the California legislature enacted the California Mental Health Parity Act (“Parity Act”) to remedy what it perceived to be a deficiency in coverage for mental illness on the part of private health insurance policies. Within the broad realm of mental illness, tens of millions of Americans suffer from eating disorders, most notably anorexia nervosa (“anorexia”) and bulimia nervosa (“bulimia”). Recently, insureds prevailed in two decisions regarding health insurance coverage for such eating disorders. In Harlick v. Blue Shield of California, 686 F.3d 699 (9th Cir. 2012), and Rea v. Blue Shield of California, 2014 WL 2584433 (Cal. Ct. App. June 10, 2014), courts found that the Parity Act requires health insurance providers to cover certain services used to treat eating disorders that were excluded from coverage in the insureds' policies. This article summarizes these decisions and discusses the implications for health insurance providers.
The Parity Act
Enacted in 1999, the Parity Act is part of the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act (“Knox-Keene Act”) found in ” 1340'1399 of the California Health and Safety Code. California first enacted the Knox-Keene Act in 1975 to provide a legal framework for the regulation of California's individual and group health care plans. Located within the Knox-Keene Act, the Parity Act mandates that health care service plans that provide “hospital, medical, or surgical coverage shall provide coverage for the diagnosis and medically necessary treatment of severe mental illnesses.” CAL. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ' 1374.72(a). The California legislature enacted the Parity Act to address the imbalance between medical coverage for physical and mental illnesses. The legislature found that the majority of “private health insurance policies provide coverage for mental illness at levels far below coverage for other physical illnesses.” 1999 Cal. Legis. Serv. Ch. 534 (A.B. 88), ' 1. As a result of this gap in coverage, the legislature determined that inadequate treatment for mental illness led to “relapse and untold suffering” as well as general increases in crime and homelessness, with an accompanying negative impact on the state budget. Id .
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.