Minnesota's Attorney General has reached a settlement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota regarding accessibility of mental health services.
In June 2019, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office investigated BCBSM's compliance with state mental health parity laws, which require parity for coverage of mental and physical health services. Preliminary findings found that the insurer may not have complied with state requirements, though the company disputes those findings.
As part of the settlement, BCBSM agreed to a stayed civil penalty of $300,000, which the company will be required to pay to the state if it is found by a court to have violated the terms of the settlement through the end of 2028. BCBSM will also voluntarily give $600,000 to Minnesota State University-Mankato's Center for Rural Behavioral Health.
In addition, the company has agreed to:
- Make decisions about the vast majority of prior authorization requests for behavioral health services within five days.
- Approve or deny a behavioral health provider’s request to join BCBSM's network within 45 days.
- Implement initiatives to increase behavioral health access and provide data to the state to evaluate success.
- Pay a consultant selected by the state to ensure BCBSM is not imposing more restrictive limitations on mental health/substance use benefits compared to other health benefits.
- Respond within 30 days to any complaint about behavioral health parity submitted to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.