MHPAEA requires that insurers meet mental health parity standards in two areas: quantitative limits and non-quantitative limits.

• Plans must apply comparable financial requirements (such as copay, coinsurance, & deductible) for mental health/substance use disorder and medical surgical care.
• The number of outpatient visits or inpatient days covered must be comparable for mental health/substance use disorder and medical surgical care.  
• Prior authorization requirements for mental health/substance use disorder services must be comparable to or less restrictive than those for medical surgical services.

These standards are applied according to classifications of benefits:

• Inpatient / in-network
• Inpatient / out-of-network
• Outpatient / in-network
• Outpatient / out-of-network
• Emergency care
• Prescription drugs