Psychiatric News (4/15) reports the latest Mental Heath Parity Index “starkly illustrates how patients across the country face greater barriers to accessing mental health/substance use disorder (MH/SUD) care compared with physical health care – even though Congress requires insurers to treat the two equally.” The index “compares network composition and reimbursement rates for MH/SUD services and physical health services among the nation’s four largest insurers: Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.” This year’s edition found that “in 42 states plus Washington, D.C., patients face a greater disparity in accessing in-network MH/SUD services compared with physical health services. Nationally, UnitedHealthcare has the greatest discrepancy, with 48% of the nation’s physical [healthcare professionals] in its network, compared with only 20% of MH/SUD” healthcare professionals.
Related Links:
— “Patients in Almost Every State Face Disparities in Accessing Mental Health Care, Psychiatric News, April 15, 2026