The American Medical Association sent statements to two congressional committees claiming that payers are rampantly disregarding mental parity law due to a lack of enforcement.
Both the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee held hearings on a Labor Department report that identified insurer noncompliance with federal parity law.
AMA doubled down on the reports findings, saying a heightened priority on enforcement is imperative to curbing payer noncompliance and improving healthcare nationwide.
"The report found that insurers' failures were rampant across plans in many ways, including using greater restrictions on treatment, benefits and evidentiary standards for care for mental health and substance-use disorders compared to medical/surgical benefits," James Madara, MD, AMA executive vice president and CEO, wrote in the letter.