To Fund Mental Health Care, States and Cities Raise Taxes

Governing: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to make mental health care accessible to everyone. The law mandated “parity” -- that insurance companies must cover mental health services, including substance abuse treatment, on par with medical and surgical care. But the goal hasn’t been realized. Loopholes in the ACA and other federal laws allowed some plans to limit or exclude mental and behavioral health coverage. Oversight and enforcement of the mandates have been inconsistent. And, of course, millions of Americans remain without health coverage.

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