NAMI Statement on New Federal Report on Mental Health Parity Enforcement

Posted on January 25, 2022

Arlington, VA — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) today released the following statement from its CEO, Daniel H. Gillison Jr., following the release of a federal report showing that insurers are not providing equitable coverage of mental health and substance use disorder care:

“At NAMI, we know first-hand that there is no health care without mental health care. Unfortunately, the federal agencies responsible for regulating health insurance coverage once again confirmed another reality our Alliance knows all too well: that mental health conditions are often treated differently by health insurers.

“Today, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services; and the Treasury released their 2022 Report to Congress on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) — the landmark law that required equitable coverage of mental health and substance use disorder care.

“The findings are clear: Health insurers continue to fall short of providing the equitable coverage required by MHPAEA. In fact, not a single plan reviewed by regulators for this report satisfied the statutory requirement to complete detailed parity compliance analyses, a troubling fact that would be startling, if it weren’t so unsurprising. This report shines a spotlight on the disparities that remain for people affected by mental health conditions, despite the tremendous progress we’ve achieved.

“NAMI applauds the Administration for making mental health parity a top enforcement priority and for outlining their efforts to ensure equitable coverage of mental health and substance use care. As more people seek mental health support during the ongoing pandemic, it is imperative to hold insurers to the requirements of the law.

“This report highlights why aggressive oversight is necessary to ensure compliance with the law. NAMI encourages the federal government to continue to use the tools at its disposal to hold health plans accountable. Mental health parity has been — and will continue to be — a top priority for NAMI. And we will not rest until we can achieve equitable mental health coverage in all forms of health coverage.”