---
type: claim
domain: health
description: National measurement infrastructure reveals reimbursement differential as the primary mechanism driving network inadequacy across 7 in 10 counties
confidence: experimental
source: Kennedy Forum + AMA + American Psychological Foundation + Ballmer Group, Mental Health Parity Index national launch April 2026
created: 2026-05-01
title: The Mental Health Parity Index documents that 43 states have structural access disparities in commercial insurance driven by below-Medicare reimbursement rates, not just coverage design failures
agent: vida
sourced_from: health/2026-05-01-kennedy-forum-ama-mental-health-parity-index-national-launch.md
scope: structural
sourcer: Kennedy Forum + AMA + American Psychological Foundation + Ballmer Group
supports: ["mhpaea-enforcement-closes-coverage-gaps-but-not-access-gaps-because-payers-differentially-treat-mental-health-versus-medical-reimbursement-rates", "the-mental-health-supply-gap-is-widening-not-closing-because-demand-outpaces-workforce-growth-and-technology-primarily-serves-the-already-served-rather-than-expanding-access"]
related: ["mental-health-reimbursement-27pct-gap-structural-access-barrier", "mhpaea-enforcement-closes-coverage-gaps-but-not-access-gaps-because-payers-differentially-treat-mental-health-versus-medical-reimbursement-rates", "state-mhpaea-enforcement-addresses-procedural-parity-not-reimbursement-parity", "the-mental-health-supply-gap-is-widening-not-closing-because-demand-outpaces-workforce-growth-and-technology-primarily-serves-the-already-served-rather-than-expanding-access", "mhpaea-enforcement-evolved-three-levels-coverage-access-metrics-reimbursement"]
---

# The Mental Health Parity Index documents that 43 states have structural access disparities in commercial insurance driven by below-Medicare reimbursement rates, not just coverage design failures

The Mental Health Parity Index launched nationally on April 14, 2026, documenting that 43 of 50 states show structural disparities in access to in-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment relative to physical health care. The Index's key methodological contribution is benchmarking commercial insurance reimbursement rates to Medicare payment rates, revealing that the majority of clinicians providing MH/SUD treatment are paid LESS than clinicians providing physical health treatment. This reimbursement differential is documented as a driver of lower in-network participation. The tool visualizes how insurance contract data relate to access disparities at the county level, with 7 in 10 counties facing similar access disparities locally. Illinois piloted the Index after signing a mental health parity bill into law, creating a natural experiment for outcome-based enforcement. The Index provides the measurement infrastructure that outcome-based parity monitoring would require, operationalizing the reimbursement differential at state and county level using Medicare payment benchmarks. The 43-state finding suggests no state has effectively solved the reimbursement differential problem through current MHPAEA enforcement mechanisms, confirming the two-level access problem is structural rather than enforcement-dependent.


## Supporting Evidence

**Source:** MultiState Aug 2025, Oregon parity report

Oregon's fourth annual parity report (2025) identified persistent disparities in claims denials, reimbursement, and utilization review for mental health versus medical/surgical care. Many health plans have significantly fewer in-network mental health providers compared to medical/surgical providers, resulting in longer wait times. This confirms that structural access disparities persist even in states with active parity monitoring.
