The Illinois Department of Insurance has begun its third annual consumer education campaign highlighting mental health parity during this month of May – which is, of course, Mental Health Awareness Month. The Department continues its work 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.
IDOI Acting Director Ann Gillespie noted:
“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. 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.”
The IDOI states that it’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 department notes that 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 state of Illinois encourages those interested parties to visit IDOI’s Consumer Protection and Education division, which provides information about mental health parity and how to file a consumer complaint during community outreach presentations.
