Secret Shopper Analysis Shows Getting Psychiatry Appointment in New York City Is Well Kept Secret

Authors

Nicole L. Tenner, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, 19 Skyline Drive 2N-B10, Hawthorne, NY, 10532, USA. ntenner@student.touro.edu.
Medha Reddy, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, 19 Skyline Drive 2N-B10, Hawthorne, NY, 10532, USA.
Adam E. Block, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, 19 Skyline Drive 2N-B10, Hawthorne, NY, 10532, USA.

Author Type(s)

Faculty

Journal Title

Community Mental Health Journal

First Page

290

Last Page

293

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2023

Department

Medicine

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act prevents payors from imposing more stringent limitations on mental health and substance disorder benefits than medical and surgical benefits. In this study, we assess a New York City insurer's parity compliance based on the accuracy and validity of network-provided information and a consider legal framework to address this. METHODS: A "secret shopper" analysis was performed, in which researchers attempted to contact the 192 psychiatrist providers listed in the 2019 online directory of United Healthcare psychiatry providers. RESULTS: Only 3.1% of calls resulted in researchers booking an appointment. 50.5% of calls resulted in "no response", 18.75% connected to psychiatrists not accepting new patients, and 8.8% of listed providers stated they were not in the United Healthcare network. CONCLUSIONS: Erroneous directory information exacerbates the issue of access to mental health treatment. Enforcement policy should hold insurers accountable for the reliability of their online directories.

Recommended Citation

Tenner, N. L., Reddy, M., & Block, A. E. (2023). Secret Shopper Analysis Shows Getting Psychiatry Appointment in New York City Is Well Kept Secret. Community Mental Health Journal, 59 (2), 290-293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-01006-9