Lawsuit Filed Against UBH Alleges Restrictions of Mental Health Insurance Coverage

Psych-Appeal Inc. and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP have filed a class-action lawsuit against United Behavioral Health (UBH) on behalf of several individuals who suffer from mental health and substance abuse conditions. The suit alleges that UBH improperly limits and denies insurance coverage for outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment through restrictive internal guidelines. It challenges UBH’s “medical necessity” criteria and argues that claim denials violate UBH’s obligations under ERISA.

“United Behavioral Health’s level of care guidelines are far more restrictive than the standards of care that are generally accepted within the mental health community,” said Meiram Bendat, founder of Psych-Appeal. “By conditioning coverage on a patient’s ability to prove that she is in the midst of a crisis, UBH ignores the chronic nature of most mental illnesses and harms patients.”