New Jersey State Law, P.L.1999, c.106, the Mental Health Parity Law, is an Act concerned with health insurance benefits for mental health.  It was enacted in 1999, and implemented in 2000.  The Mental Health Parity Law, Chapter 106, enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, is not a federal mandate, but a state regulation. (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/9899/Bills/p199/106_.htm)

According to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (htttp://www.umdnj.edu./plan.envscan/0198.html)   Supporters of the New Jersey Mental Health Parity Act are Senator Louis Bassano (R-Union), who is the chair of the Senate Senior Citizens, Veterans Affairs and Human Services Committee, Richard Codey (D-Essex), the Senate Minority Leader.  Other supporters of similar parity bills are:  Assembly woman Charlotte Vandervolk (R-Bergen), chair of the Assembly Health Committee, and Assembly woman Joan Quigley (D-Hudson) and Assemblyman Anthony Imprevedduto (D-Hudson).  Also, Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Nick Felice (R-Bergen), vice-chair of the Assembly Health Committee, and Assembly Minority Leader Joseph Doria (C-Hudson) have been strong supporters of parity laws.

    This law states that all biologically-based mental illness is covered by Parity.  "Biologically-based mental illness" means a mental or nervous condition that is caused by a biologically disorder of the brain and results in a clinically significant or psychological syndrome or pattern that substantially limits the functioning of the person with the illness.  This includes, but is not limited to, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoia and other psychotic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder or autism.

    The law also states that coverage for these services needs to be paid according to the same terms and conditions as any medical illness.  This means that hospital service corporations and inidividual and group medical service corporations cannot apply different co-payments, deductibles or benefit limits to biologically-based mental health benefits than those applied to other medical or surgical benefits. (See link above to view the actual Act.) This was a loop-hole the insurance companies found in the Federal Act of 1996, that New Jersey eliminated through the state law.

    The law states that every individual health insurance policy that does not have any mental health benefit, but does provides hospital or medical expense benefits and is delivered, issued, executed or renewed in the State, or approved for issuance or renewal in the state on or after the effective date of this act, shall provide coverage for biologically-based mental illness under the same terms and conditions as provided for any other sickness under the contract (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/9899/Bills/p199/106_.htm).
This is different from the Federal Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which did not apply to policies that do not already have a mental health benefit.

    Exceptions to the New Jersey Mental Health Parity Act are any self-funded or government issued policies.  The way in which this law affects the patients is that if the patient's diagnosis falls under the term, "biological," and their insurance carrier doesn't fall under the exceptions, then the calendar year or lifetime caps that would be applied to the mental health carve out cannot be used to limit the patient's care.  However, the fact that the patient's benefits cannot be capped is not a guarantee that certification for services will be given.  According to Neveen Morales (interview, 9/2000), the Registrar of Hackensack University Medical Center's partial hospitalization program, Quest, parity does not preclude clinical review for medical necessity or pre-certification.