The AHA and other hospital and health care organizations Friday urged the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to rehear Wit v. United Behavioral Health, a case that former congressman and mental health advocate Patrick Kennedy has described as the “Brown v. Board of Education for the mental health community.” The 9th Circuit reversed a district court ruling that found the nation’s largest health insurer routinely denied patients access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment deemed medically necessary and consistent with generally accepted standards of care.  

The decision “should have been affirmed in view of the district court’s well-grounded evidentiary findings and legal analysis,” the organizations said in a friend-of-the-court brief. “Instead, the panel’s brief Memorandum ruling deviated from established standards of appellate review and ERISA principles. Most importantly, the panel ruling slammed shut the door to patient access to safe, effective, and state-of-the-art treatment for behavioral health and substance use disorders and sets a dangerous precedent for patients throughout this Circuit and the country.” 

Related News Articles

Headline
An analysis published Sept. 30 by KFF found that Health Insurance Marketplace enrollees who currently benefit from the enhanced premium tax credits would pay…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 29 sent recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help ensure…
Headline
An AHA blog published Sept. 16 highlights programs and practices by Boston Medical Center leaders and staff that support residents’ mental health, emotional…
Headline
Susan Doherty, AHA’s vice president of field engagement, and Rebecca Chickey, AHA’s senior director of behavioral health services, write on the unique ways…
Blog
This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2023, the latest year for which data was…
Headline
Corey Feist, CEO and co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, and Tiffany Lyttle, R.N., director of cultural integration at Centra Health, discuss…