This report originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of DOTmed Business News

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has signed into law expansions of a 2009 federal parity law. Senate Bill 362 requires group health insurance policies to cover mental health, alcoholism and other drug abuse treatment services at the same level as other types of inpatient or outpatient treatment. A plan would need to provide coverage for transitional treatment arrangements for those conditions.

The duration or frequency of coverage limits under such a plan must be no more restrictive for coverage of the treatment of mental health or alcohol and drug abuse than the most common type of treatment limitations applied to substantially all other coverage. The law will also eliminate minimum annual amounts of coverage a group health insurance policy must provide for individuals with those conditions.
The Wisconsin Legislature has also passed a bill directing the State Pharmacy Examining Board to establish a program for monitoring the dispensing of certain drugs, controlled substances in particular. The program would require health care practitioners to electronically record the dispensing of a covered prescription and give the record to the board. The board would need to determine the data to be included in the record, the format and deadline, and penalty for failure to report. The bill awaits the governor's signature.

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