Georgia Commissioner to Fine 22 Health Insurers $20M for Lack of Mental Health Parity

Georgia’s insurance commissioner announced plans to fine 22 health insurers a total of $20 million for failing to cover mental health treatments as required by law, but he did not name the insurance companies in the announcement.

“…Our initial examinations show that insurers have turned a blind eye to the rules and continue to deprive Georgians of the essential behavioral health resources they deserve,” Commissioner John King said in a statement late last week.

The fines were based on a 2023 audit and came after mental health advocates had criticized health insurers and King’s office for failing to follow and enforce the state’s Mental Health Parity Act of 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. An mental health advocate suggested the fines were too small to make much difference but he was grateful for the first step.

The parity law and a 2008 statute require health insurers to provide coverage for addiction and mental health that is comparable to physical health insurance coverage. King told the newspaper that the audit took time to complete. But he said that more than 6,000 violations had been uncovered in the examination, including unnecessarily requiring prior authorization for some services.

The Georgia Association of Health Plans, which represents nine of the fined companies, said the audit examined 2022 data, from when the law was new, and the results may be outdated, the newspaper reported. Since 2022, insurers’ mental health spending has increased significantly, the association said in a statement.

King’s director of legislative affairs, Bryce Rawson, said Monday that the office cannot share more information on the fines until all orders have been finalized. He did not say when that might be. Insurers can appeal to the Superior Court of Fulton County after all appeals to the OCI have been exhausted, he said.

Topics Carriers Georgia