APA Files Amicus Brief Supporting Lawsuit Tied to Psych-Appeal

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has filed a “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in support of a lawsuit that is associated with Psych-Appeal. The amicus brief backs the New York State Psychiatric Association’s (NYSPA) appeal of a lower court decision regarding a lawsuit filed against United Behavioral Health for allegedly violating the federal parity law.

In its brief, APA supports NYSPA’s position that it can bring a claim under ERISA on behalf of  member psychiatrists and their patients.

“Psychiatrists have third-party standing to assert claims on behalf of their patients because: they suffer injury themselves; they stand in a ‘close relationship’ with the patients on whose behalf they seek to litigate; and those patients face ‘some hindrance to. . .asserting their own rights,’ ” states the APA. “…social stigma and the inherent incapacities associated with mental health and substance use disorders constitute a substantial and often insurmountable obstacle to patients’ efforts to vindicate their own rights through litigation. These deterrent effects are supported by the scientific literature and have long been recognized by the courts. As a result, just as courts have recognized the third-party standing of nonpsychiatric doctors to litigate on behalf of patients, courts also have recognized the standing of psychiatrists to do the same.”

The initial class action, which was filed in March 2013 by NYSPA, Psych-Appeal, and others, alleges that UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries, including United Behavioral Health, routinely violated the federal parity law.