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IDOI Kicks Off Its Third Annual
Mental Health Parity Campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month
[May 06, 2025]
Chicago – The Illinois Department
of Insurance (IDOI) kicks off its third annual consumer education
campaign highlighting mental health parity during Mental Health
Awareness Month. The Department continues to raise awareness about
mental health parity laws which require that insurance coverage for
mental health and substance use disorders is no more restrictive
than coverage for physical health conditions.
The 2025 campaign consists of radio, digital, and social media ads
running in local markets, including Chicago, Springfield, Rockford,
and Peoria, along with billboards and transit station signs. The
animated character named “Yarney” is featured again this year as the
Department’s mental health parity ambassador to connect with
insurance consumers.
“We are engaging Illinoisans with
ads, educational website videos and outreach to ensure they
understand what mental health parity is and how our Department
enforces parity laws to protect them,” said IDOI Acting Director Ann
Gillespie. “For example, the protections provided by the Mental
Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act mean that if your health
insurance plan has unlimited doctor visits for a chronic condition
like hypertension, then it must offer unlimited visits for a mental
health condition such as depression.”
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IDOI’s enforcement
includes conducting market conduct examinations to investigate
the practices of health insurance companies, and when parity law
violations are found, companies are fined. Mental health parity
fines are earmarked for the Parity Advancement Fund which to
date has a balance of more than $3.2 million. The fund is
appropriated by the General Assembly to help further the cause
of mental health parity, including parity compliance advocacy,
initiatives supporting parity implementation and enforcement on
behalf of consumers, and a Consumer Education Campaign.
The mental health parity campaign runs
through September, and the Department’s Consumer Protection and
Education division provides information about mental health parity
and how to file a consumer complaint during community outreach
presentations.
You can view educational videos about mental health parity and learn
more about parity laws at
Getcoveredillinois.gov. Get Covered Illinois is a division of
the Illinois Department of Insurance.
[Illinois Department of Insurance]
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