Chair and Members of the Committee, On behalf of the Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis (VABA), I urge you to support this bill. Every mental health parity violation represents real harm to a Virginian living with a mental health or substance use disorder. Despite clear legal requirements, mental health care is not treated the same as medical care. Insurance companies deny mental health and substance use treatment at significantly higher rates and apply stricter, confusing standards that would never be tolerated in physical health care. These violations are not isolated. Every insurance company reviewed in Virginia has violated mental health parity laws over the past five years, with no meaningful improvement. At the same time, mental health and substance use provider networks are so thin that timely care is often impossible. Repeated denials, delays, and administrative barriers are pushing providers out of insurance networks altogether, making care unaffordable for many families. Patients are being harmed now. Routine outpatient services—the very care that prevents crises—are frequently denied. Claims are reversed, appeals fail, and people simply give up trying to access treatment. This bill strengthens accountability. It locks in federal 2024 parity protections at the state level, requires transparency in how insurers apply medical necessity standards, updates data collection on violations, establishes enforceable penalties, and directs the Department of Health to set meaningful network adequacy standards. Without state action, protections remain hollow. Virginians deserve equal treatment under the law. Thank you for your consideration.

Access to appropriate mental health care is increasingly difficult for many, even with insurance, and It is encouraging to see both the House and Senate support adequate insurance network standards and parity enforcement so more individuals can access the care they need.

On behalf of Pyramid Healthcare, attached please find written testimony in support of SB524/HB656: "Mental Health & Substance Abuse Disorders; Network Adequacy Standards, Comparative Analyses, Report." Sincerely, Collan B. Rosier Vice President of Government Relations Pyramid Healthcare, Inc.