OLYMPIA, WA — Washington Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer has fined Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington $300,000 for violations of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), according to a Jan. 8 announcement from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Of the total penalty, $100,000 will be suspended if Kaiser complies with specific conditions over the next two years.

The fine follows a behavioral health market scan conducted by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. The agency first issued a market scan in March 2019 and received incomplete responses from Kaiser, prompting a second scan in January 2020. That follow-up review required insurers to provide comparative analyses of utilization management practices, provider admission standards, provider directories, and network adequacy as they relate to non-quantitative treatment limitations.

Under MHPAEA, health carriers must document how treatment limitations for behavioral health benefits compare with those for medical and surgical benefits and provide that information to regulators upon request. The commissioner’s office determined Kaiser failed to provide sufficient documentation related to provider admission standards and network adequacy, and lacked detailed records showing how it initially addressed disparities in provider reimbursement and network adequacy standards.

According to the announcement, Kaiser later supplied information outlining steps taken to remedy those issues after the insurance commissioner initiated enforcement actions. Kuderer agreed to suspend $100,000 of the fine if Kaiser commits no additional MHPAEA violations for two years and meets the requirements of a compliance plan.

The action follows similar enforcement efforts against other insurers. Kuderer previously fined Regence BlueShield and Premera Blue Cross $550,000 each in 2025 for mental health parity-related violations, the office said.