Georgia will fine health insurance companies more than $20 million for failing to comply with mental health parity laws, Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced Friday.
“I was there when Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act was signed into law in 2022. Three years later, our initial examinations show that insurers have turned a blind eye to the rules and continue to deprive Georgians of the essential behavioral health resources they deserve,” King said.
The law requires insurers to cover mental health and substance use treatment on the same level as physical health care. State regulators review data each year to ensure compliance and can launch in-depth audits—known as market conduct examinations—if problems surface.
Those audits uncovered more than 6,000 violations at 22 insurance companies. Regulators cited issues such as inconsistent benefit classifications, unnecessary prior authorization requirements, and claims being reprocessed without clear cause.
“The time to get in compliance with the law was yesterday,” King said.
Georgia law allows fines of up to $5,000 for each violation if an insurer knew or should have known it was breaking the law. In addition to penalties, companies can be ordered to reprocess claims or operate under compliance plans.
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance said it will continue monitoring insurers to ensure they follow parity requirements. Consumers who believe they have been denied equal coverage can file a complaint at oci.georgia.gov or call 1-800-656-2298.
