ATLANTA — Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced Friday that health insurance companies will be fined over $20 million for violating Mental Health Parity laws in Georgia.
The bipartisan laws require insurance companies to handle mental health and substance abuse treatment the same as physical injuries.
“Imagine you’re in crisis, you’re trying to get help and you get thrown all these roadblocks,” King told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray.
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance said it examined 22 insurers, including all major insurance carriers in Georgia, and uncovered over 6,000 violations of state laws.
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“I was there when Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act was signed into law in 2022,” King said in a statement. “Three years later, 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.”
The state law aligns with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
Findings from a 2023 report led to examinations of the insurance companies. The OCI said violations included inconsistent application of benefit classifications, unauthorized prior authorization requirements, and unclear triggers for post-service reviews.
Under Georgia law, the commissioner can impose fines up to $5,000 per violation if insurers knowingly violate parity laws.
Insurers may also be required to develop compliance plans or reprocess claims.
“The time to get in compliance with the law was yesterday,” King said. “Today, we are taking decisive action to hold those who think they can skirt the law accountable.”
Jeff Breedlove, with the Georgia Council for Recovery, spent decades working in stat and national politics while also battling addiction. He said he entered rehab after a 2016 arrest.
He now works with others battling addiction.
“We cannot let big insurance get into an annual occurrence of simply paying a fine rather than following the law,” he said.
The concern from mental health and substance abuse advocates is that insurance companies would rather pay a fine than provide coverage.
King says the fines can go up with repeat violations, but he says if that doesn’t work, he’d consider going back to the legislature to ask for authority to increase them.
Consumers who believe they are the victim of a mental health parity violation may file a complaint on the OCI website or call 1-800-656-2298.
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