The Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) launches its second annual mental health parity ad campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month. Ads will run on radio, digital, and social media in Chicago, Springfield, Rockford, and Peoria.
Ann Gillespie, Acting Director of IDOI, emphasized the importance of Illinoisans understanding the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
Alongside the ad campaign, educational videos on the Get Covered Illinois website, featuring Yarney, explain mental health parity in detail and emphasize the Department's commitment to enforcing parity laws for consumer protection.
The Department enforces parity laws by examining health insurance companies' practices and imposing fines for violations.
Fines, earmarked for the Parity Advancement Fund, total over $4.4 million, used for promoting mental health parity through advocacy, compliance initiatives, enforcement, and consumer education campaigns.
IDOI's mental health parity ad campaign runs through September.
Consumers can visit the website and watch educational videos on mental health parity,
which guide them to file complaints with the Department if they feel their insurer's mental health coverage is unfairly limited compared to physical health coverage.