Psych-Appeal Law Firm Successes Reported by National Law Journal

As a law firm exclusively specializing in mental health insurance advocacy, Psych-Appeal has had a number of recent successes — and they’ve caught the attention of The National Law Journal.

Last week, a U.S. District Court judge granted class certification in a lawsuit against Blue Shield of California and Human Affairs International of California, Inc., a subsidiary of Magellan Health, Inc. That decision is the latest in a series of high-profile rulings for Psych-Appeal and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.

In “Niche-Market Lawyers Battle Insurers’ Disparate Treatment of Mental Health Claims,” reporter Kristen Rasmussen looks at several cases filed by Psych-Appeal and Zuckerman Spaeder. These cases have taken on some of the giants in the health care industry, from Blue Shield of California and Aetna to Cigna and UnitedHealthcare. The commonality? All have been filed with the intention of holding health insurers accountable for improperly denying mental health and substance abuse treatment.

“Th[ese] cases have been successful because they speak to systematic abuses that are relatable, and the remedies we are seeking are just intrinsically fair. They’re requiring the insurers to essentially conform their practices to the proper standard of care,” said Meiram Bendat. Dr. Bendat is the founder and president of Psych-Appeal and was interviewed by the Journal about the law firm’s successes.

Dr. Bendat’s background in clinical psychology, marriage and family therapy, and psychoanalysis, has served the law firm well as it advocates for patients and providers to overcome insurer denials of mental health treatment claims. Partnering with Zuckerman Spaeder on numerous class actions, the two law firms have become a powerhouse in mental health parity litigation. Psych-Appeal is also working with the Parity Implementation Coalition, the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics, and The Kennedy Forum to break the stigma associated with mental health conditions and to expand access to mental health care.

NOTE: The above link is available to National Law Journal subscribers.