OBJECTIVES: The Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equality Act (MHPAEA) of 2010 in the United States was to expand mental health insurance benefits on non-medical benefits. As primary care facilities are often the first step in identifying mental health concerns, it is essential to examine the effects of this policy on physicians’ choice on depression treatment in primary care facilities. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using the 2007-2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys. Using the Heckman two-step selection procedure, a logistic regression and a multinomial regression were conducted to depict the two-step process of deciding to treat depression and then which type of treatment as well as to examine the effect of MHPAEA. Sociological factors were controlled in the regression models. RESULTS: Psychotherapy was used for treatment for 10.0% of the sample while medication was used for 75.0% of the sample. Treatment rates did not differ significantly across years. The logistic regression showed that patient age, race/ethnicity, practice setting, and primary source of payment were associated with diverging likelihood of being prescribed depression treatment. Non-Hispanic white patients were more likely to be prescribed psychotherapy than non-Hispanic black and Hispanic patients (ORs=0.65 and 0.79). Patients with Medicaid/Medicare were more likely to be prescribed psychotherapy than those with private insurance (ORs=0.80 and 0.75). Compared to those receiving psychotherapy, in the year 2012, patients were more likely to be given combination treatment (all ps<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We did not see an effect of the MHPAEA on primary care providers’ choice on depression treatment. We did see strong relationships between sociological factors and physicians’ choices to provide treatment. There may be gaps in depression treatment amongst differing sociological strata. Policy makers and clinicians should take actions to improve utilization of effective treatment and create guidelines to moderate possible disparities in mental healthcare.