AMA urges continued DOL and state parity enforcement
United Behavioral Health, United Healthcare and multiple insurers in Delaware became the latest to pay millions of dollars in fines for violations of state and federal mental health and substance use disorder parity laws.
The AMA commended the enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Delaware Insurance Commissioner, writing to the DOL (PDF) that “there is increasing evidence of widespread, frequent violations by many different insurers—but these violations only come to light because of meaningful oversight and enforcement actions. It is deeply concerning that each time regulators investigate, they find violations.”
As part of the AMA’s recommendations (PDF) to the Office of National Drug Control Policy regarding its 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, the AMA urged the Biden administration to provide the DOL with the necessary resources and make clear that strong parity oversight and enforcement must be of the highest priority.
