Employers on Hook for Mental Health Parity Despite New Target

Health insurance companies are now in the crosshairs of the Department of Labor’s aggressive enforcement of mental health parity, but it’s unlikely to mean employers will escape scrutiny.

In what appeared to be a first for the department, it initiated litigation last month against an insurer to ensure health plans offering mental health and substance use disorder benefits are covering treatments at the same level as physical or surgical health care.

Although the action, which was quickly settled, signaled a significant shift in the policing of parity, benefits attorneys say employers aren’t off the hook.

Kathryn Bakich, who leads the ...