NAMI will Join Appeal of U.S. District Court Ruling Allowing Short-Term, Limited Duration Plans

NAMI is deeply disappointed in today’s U.S. District court ruling regarding ACAP v. Treasury, in which Judge Richard Leon upheld the Administration’s regulation allowing for the sale of Short-Term, Limited Duration (STLD) plans as a substitute for comprehensive health insurance. This rule will harm patients and their families because STLD plans can deny both coverage and care for people with mental health conditions. The following statement is provided by Angela Kimball, acting CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

“NAMI has spent decades fighting for parity—fair and equal coverage of mental health conditions. We have no intention of stopping until we end discriminatory coverage. This ruling is a step in the wrong direction. It lets junk plans compete with comprehensive health insurance, even though they don’t have to provide the same level of mental health coverage—or any mental health coverage at all. This undermines the very intent of mental health parity.”

“We will join an appeal of this decision because the health of our nation includes its mental health. It is imperative that insurance plans provide essential mental health benefits for all Americans, plain and simple.”  

Organizations that joined the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) and NAMI in filing the original lawsuit included Mental Health America, American Psychiatric Association (APA), AIDS United, National Partnership for Women & Families, and Little Lobbyists.