PRESENTATION I: 

Get the most out of your health insurance: Your right to services for mental health, alcohol or drug use problems.

This brief presentation will review the history of mental health parity and use a plain language video to demonstrate how health plans are required to give equal importance to the health of both the body and the mind.

The presentation will highlight red flags that a consumer may encounter that signals unequal access to mental health services or services to address alcohol and drug problems. For example, if a health plan restricts access to services by requiring use of lower cost therapies before accessing other types of services, or not having enough providers in their network. The presentation will use case scenarios to illustrate how the problems with equal access may look to a consumer, and how these can be resolved.

The presentation will conclude with clear advice about how to file a complaint with health insurance companies and how to contact OSI for further support in resolving problems.

This brief presentation will use plain language to review the basics of “cost-sharing”, or co-pays and deductibles, and emphasize that preventive care services are available to consumers at no cost, or “cost-sharing free”. The presentation will describe what is typically included in a well-person exam and what are common preventive care services, as well as provide a complete list of preventive care services that consumers can expect to receive at no cost. 

The presentation will highlight red flags that a consumer may encounter when accessing preventive services and provide advice about how to be a smart consumer when it comes to using preventive services. Important tips for Bronze plan users will be included.  The presentation will use case scenarios to illustrate common problems in accessing preventive services, and how these can be resolved. 

The presentation will conclude with clear advice about how to file a complaint with health insurance companies and how to contact OSI for further support in resolving problems.