More than half the states in the U.S. have enacted parity laws mandating comparable coverage for medical and SUD because insurance coverage for SUD treatment can be more restrictive in terms of cost sharing and treatment limitations. An estimated 23 million Americans had a SUD in 2010, according to the study background.
Researchers analyzed all state-level SUD parity laws in the private insurance market that were implemented between October 2000 and March 2008 and found that implementing any SUD parity law increased the treatment rate a relative 9 percent in all specialty SUD treatment facilities and by 15 percent in facilities that accept private insurance.