Elevance Health (Elevance) settled a class-action complaint alleging that its Anthem commercial health plans applied overly restrictive criteria to claims for residential behavioral health treatment. The plaintiffs alleged that the restrictive criteria violated federal mental health parity laws.
The plaintiffs also alleged that Anthem’s coverage focused on intervention for short-term crises, but not on medically necessary treatment for chronic and persistent symptoms of behavioral health conditions. The complaint, Marissa Collins et al. v. Anthem Inc. et al. (case number 2:20-cv-01969), was filed in April 2020 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The lead plaintiff was a participant in an ADP employee health plan administered by Anthem. The court certified the class action in March 2024, with nearly 19,000 in the class.
The settlement agreement was filed on June 30, 2025. Anthem agreed to put $12.9 million into a common fund to reimburse class members for their out-of-pocket expenses for denied residential treatment. The lead plaintiffs will receive $10,000 each. The remaining class members will receive at least $100 each. Anthem agreed to cover $4.3 million in plaintiff legal fees.
Anthem rebranded as Elevance on June 28, 2022. The company’s affiliated Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross health plans continue to operate under these names.
These actions were alleged to be in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). The latter mandates that health plans’ limitations on behavioral health treatment not be more restrictive than those applied to other medical and surgical treatments. The settlement resolves both the ERISA and MHPAEA claims, and Anthem did not admit to any wrongdoing.
For more information, contact: Tina Gaines, Communications, Elevance Health, 220 Virginia Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-3709; Email: tina.gaines@elevancehealth.com; Website: https://www.elevancehealth.com/
October 2025 00US25EUA0040