People are still paying more for out-of-network mental health treatment 

A new study of more than 3.2 million patients with mental health conditions finds that they are still spending more for out-of-pocket services, even though a law passed a decade ago aimed to ensure that they didn't pay more for their treatment than those without behavioral health issues. Looking at data between 2012-2017, researchers found that those with physical health problems were less likely to encounter out-of-network providers than patients who needed mental health services. For example, those with substance use disorders were nearly 13 percentage points more likely to have an out-of-network hospital stay than patients with congestive heart failure. Those with drug use disorders also paid $1,200 more for out-of-network services than those with diabetes. Policymakers looking to fix the gap should look at the fact that insurance networks don’t seem to accommodate many mental health providers, the authors write.