The Illinois Department of Insurance fined health insurers more than $2 million for violating mental health parity laws.
Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, health insurers must cover mental health and substance use disorder care at equivalent levels as medical or surgical care. Illinois state laws have expanded those requirements.
According to a July 15 news release, the department issued fines against Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Health Care Service Corp. and Celtic after an examination found the health insurers violated the laws. Violations included failure to use medical necessity guidelines and meet prior authorization requirements. Fines ranged from $208,000 to $582,000 per insurer.