"Who was that masked man?"

And what all was in that bill anyway? Sweetner details:

Doctors often complain that insurers, especially managed care companies, interfere in their treatment decisions. But doctors and mental health advocates cited the work of such companies in arguing that mental health parity would be affordable, because the benefits could be managed.

Pamela B. Greenberg, president of the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, a trade group, said providers of mental health care typically drafted a treatment plan for each person. In complex cases, she said, a case manager or care coordinator monitors the patient’s progress.

A managed care company can refuse to pay for care, on the grounds that it is not medically necessary or “clinically appropriate.” But under the new law, insurers must disclose their criteria for determining medical necessity, as well as the reason for denying any particular claim for mental health services.

Andrew Sperling, a lobbyist at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an advocacy group, said, “Under the new law, we will probably see more aggressive management of mental health benefits because insurers can no longer impose arbitrary limits.”

The law will also encourage insurers to integrate coverage for mental health care with medical and surgical benefits. Under the law, insurers cannot have separate cost-sharing requirements or treatment limits that apply only to mental illness and addiction disorders.