Gavarone Bill to Improve Mental Healthcare Access Heads to Governor

COLUMBUS—State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) today announced the Senate concurred with House amendments to Senate Bill 284. The bill now includes Senate Bill 254, sponsored by Gavarone and Senator Sean O’Brien (D-Bazetta), that will better ensure Ohioans have access to mental health and substance abuse treatment by prohibiting insurers from covering illnesses of the brain more restrictively than illnesses of the body. In 2008, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was signed into law on the federal level. Unfortunately, two years prior, Ohio created its own parity law and has not updated it to align with federal law. Ohio's outdated parity laws have resulted in a lack of mental health insurance coverage by insurers in Ohio and an ’F’ rating by the Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity.

“Improving access to mental healthcare is one of the reasons I wanted to be a member of the General Assembly, so getting this legislation done is a proud moment,” Gavarone said. “But this isn’t the end of our work. Ohio lags behind much of the country when it comes to coverage for mental health and that is an issue I’ll continue to work on over the next four years.”

The legislation seeks to align Ohio’s insurance code with the federal parity law. This will ensure that Ohio’s insurers, many of which are already following federal law in other states, will treat those suffering from mental illness the same as those getting treatment for a broken bone or diabetes.

Senate Bill 284 will now be sent to the Governor for consideration.