United Healthcare Fined By Pa. Regulators For Mental Health Violations

Nov. 5--Pennsylvania officials on Monday announced a $ 1 million fine against insurance giant United Healthcare for denial or sometimes failure to pay customers' claims relating to mental health care.

United also inaccurately calculated consumers' total out-of-pocket costs for claims relating to autism, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The company's actions were in violation of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, officials said.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 requires health insurance plans to contain equivalent levels of coverage for mental health and substance use disorder care as for medical or surgical care, the insurance department said. This law covers quantitative limitations, such as copays, deductibles, and limits on inpatient or outpatient visits that are covered, plus other restraints on getting care, such as pre-authorizations, the number of providers available through a plan's network, and what a plan deems "medically necessary."

United said in a statement: "We worked closely with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to address its concerns. While we have already made changes, we will continue to make improvements to help individuals get care under their plans. We will collaborate with the Insurance Department to help more Pennsylvanians meet their mental health needs by providing additional resources and education to help them understand and access their benefits."

In addition to paying the fine, United agreed to spend $800,000 on a public outreach campaign to educate Pennsylvania consumers about their mental health and substance use disorder benefits and to pay an unspecified amount of restitution to consumers whose claims were wrongly denied, who overpaid out-pocket-expenses, and who incurred interest on delayed claims.

The fine was the result of a "market conduct examination" that covered January 2015 through March 2016.

"Market conduct examinations provide the department with an opportunity to review a company's practices and procedures, including its compliance with laws requiring parity of coverage for substance use disorders and mental health," Insurance Commission Jessica Altman said in a news release. "The violations within this area were very disappointing as they negatively affected some of our most vulnerable populations."

In January, the insurance department fined Aetna $190,000 after a market conduct review found that the insurer had violated rules on coverage of drug and alcohol abuse treatment and coverage of autism spectrum disorder.

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