(Recorder of Georgia) A few days after King’s office declared it would fine health insurance firms $20 million for noncompliance, mental health advocates convened in the state capitol in Atlanta to call on Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King to increase enforcement of the state’s mental health parity rules.
The penalties, which were made public on Friday, are the first significant example of the state implementing a 2022 legislation that requires insurers to provide mental health coverage in addition to physical health coverage.
For a long time, Georgians have had difficulty accessing mental health care. According to an annual report from Mental Health America, the state ranks 47th in the country for access to mental health care, and Georgia ranks worst on that criteria. Almost 35% of individuals who experience frequent mental distress stated that they are unable to seek help due to the expense.
According to King’s office, which is responsible for making sure insurance companies follow Georgia laws, it discovered more than 6,000 infractions involving 22 distinct insurance companies. Businesses that knew or could have reasonably been expected to know they were breaking the law face fines of up to $5,000 per infraction, or up to $2,000 for each infraction.Early in the 2025 legislative session, Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King talks at the Eggs and Issues event hosted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta. (The Georgia Recorder/Ross Williams)
King stated in a statement on Friday that the deadline for complying with the law was yesterday. We are acting decisively today to hold accountable those who believe they can evade the law.
A representative for the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire declined to identify the specific insurers that were fined, stating that additional details would be made public after the final orders were released.
In order to better enforce a federal law from 2008 that requires health insurance companies to treat behavioral health benefits on par with physical care—that is, to have the same deductibles, co-pays, or caps on the number of visits or hospital days for both mental and physical services—Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act was signed into law in 2022.
Additionally, the law requires Georgia’s Office of Insurance and Safety Fire to perform a thorough analysis of insurer data and submit an annual report to the speaker of the House of Representatives, the lieutenant governor, and the governor each August. The report for this year has not yet been made available to the public.
At a mental health parity rally held outside King’s office on Monday, supporters demanded that Georgia’s current parity law be enforced more strictly and urged King to support other provisions of the law, such as the commissioner’s office setting up a separate complaint portal for parity-related issues.
According to Jeff Breedlove, the Georgia Council for Recovery’s strategic policy advisor, it’s the parity statute, not the parity guideline or suggestion. Serving Georgia families and conducting business in the state is a privilege, not a right, for insurance companies. Additionally, you must at the very least abide by our rules if you wish to take advantage of Georgians.
Additionally, many mental health advocates voiced displeasure with the conclusion, even though they were thrilled by King’s declaration.
“I’m a little underwhelmed by it,” said Roland Behm, a co-founder of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership, who also mentioned that the many insurance companies that broke the legislation will share the $20 million penalty.Behm, Roland J. File image
According to Behm, we’re looking at individual insurers paying roughly a million dollars. Again, even if it’s more than I have in my checking account, it’s not a lot of money in the eyes of insurers, who may decide that it would be best to ignore the Parity Act and then simply pay any fines that may be imposed.
When the Legislature meets again in January, Georgia state Representative Mary Margaret Oliver, a Democrat from Decatur who co-sponsored the 2022 measure and was present at Monday’s parity demonstration, stated that she expects to enact more legislation that will close the enforcement gaps.
Katie Dempsey, a Republican from Rome, presented House Bill 612, which would establish a parity compliance review panel and provide a systematic process for reviewing and addressing parity complaints. It would mandate that medical professionals notify health insurers of any potential infractions. The Senate insurance committee put the bill on hold, although it might be taken up again in 2026.
Oliver expressed gratitude for the commissioner’s tangible proof that we are making progress today, but he also acknowledged that much more work remains.
