Nonprofit ยท The Kennedy Forum
Parity Registry appeal support for mental health and addiction care
A step-by-step guide to fighting a denial of mental health, eating disorder or addiction care under the federal parity law, with a complaint registry and a place to share your story. It does not file appeals for you.
Know before you go
The site gives a five-step plan: find out what kind of plan you have, organize your papers, ask your provider for a support letter, appeal to your plan, and complain to your state agency if the plan does not respond. It explains the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which the site says requires most insurers to cover these conditions no more restrictively than physical conditions. Sharing your story is optional and used for advocacy. Our research review found the site's material largely dates from around 2022 and could not confirm that its state contact pages are current, so check contacts with your state regulator.
- Cost
- Not stated
- Where
- Nationwide
- How to start
- Read the appeal support page, follow the five steps, and download the Parity Resource Guide linked there.
- Have ready
- The denial letter or bill; Your plan documents and ID card; A support letter from your treatment provider
Where this comes from
- Provider
- The Kennedy Forum
- Source we read
- https://www.parityregistry.org/appeal-support/
- Date we read it
- . This is not a fresh check.
- Date the provider printed
- Not displayed
- What we checked
- We read the provider's public page. We have not verified availability, eligibility or outcomes for any individual.
Other starting points
- Program or service
FAIR Health Consumer cost estimates
A nonprofit's tools for estimating what providers charge and what insurers pay in your area, plus insurance basics. Useful evidence in an out-of-network payment dispute. It does not file appeals or negotiate for you.
From FAIR Health
- Program or service
Legal Action Center free legal help in New York
Free legal help for New Yorkers with substance use disorders or mental health care needs, including insurance barriers to treatment. Nationwide help is limited to certain addiction-medication cases.
From Legal Action Center
- Program or service
National Alliance on Mental Illness guide to insurance denials
A plain explanation of why mental health care is denied, five signs of a possible parity violation, and a link to a longer appeals guide written with The Kennedy Forum. Information only.
From National Alliance on Mental Illness