Behavioral Health Parity - Pervasive Disparities in Access to In-Network Care Continue 

A landmark report issued by the nonprofit research institute RTI International, Behavioral Health Parity – Pervasive Disparities in Access to In-Network Care Continue, provides new insights about the barriers that people with mental illness encounter when trying to access mental health care. The report found that patients were forced to use out-of-network mental health providers more frequently than patients use medical and surgical treatment, and in-network office visit reimbursement was also 22% higher on average for medical and surgical clinicians than office visits with behavioral clinicians – signaling mental health benefits parity is still far from a reality. The study also found that physician assistants were reimbursed for office visits an average of 19% higher than psychiatrists and 23% higher than psychologists. Reimbursements are the “key levers” that health plans use to encourage in-network participation, the study from nonprofit RTI International said.

“This research demonstrates the profound need for employers and purchasers to demand more of their health insurance carriers to ensure they are providing truly equitable access to behavioral health care in compliance with parity requirements,” Shawn Gremminger, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, said in a statement.