Austen Riggs Center

In November 2020, a federal magistrate issued a stinging rebuke to the United Behavioral Health division of UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest behavioral health insurer, saying it could no longer use its overly restrictive guidelines to deny mental health and substance use treatment and compelled them to reprocess over 50,000 claims. 

In this video, Austen Riggs Medical Director and CEO (and APA Area 1 Trustee running for re-election) Eric M. Plakun, MD, who served as plaintiffs’ expert in Wit v. United Behavioral Health, details how the order hands clinicians and professional groups a powerful tool to reclaim their role in determining access to care for patients.   

Dr. Plakun shares: 

• A summary of the case and remedy  
• 3 elements of effective treatment 
• How professional organizations can harness the ruling’s power 

“A recent federal ruling could do more to implement the mental health parity law and reduce health disparities than anything since the law passed in 2008. The verdict is more than a news story. It’s a powerful tool we can use as clinicians and through our professional organizations.” 

Dr. Eric M. Plakun