WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 28, 2025 — URAC, the nation’s leading independent health care accreditor, today announced that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota are the first organizations in the country to successfully complete URAC’s Mental Health/Substance Use Disorder (MH/SUD) Parity Accreditation. This achievement highlights the growing momentum among health plans to advance parity and ensure accountability in behavioral health coverage.
URAC's MH/SUD Parity Accreditation is the only program of its kind in the United States. It aligns with final rules under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and relevant state parity laws, helping health plans, issuers and third-party administrators demonstrate meaningful compliance with federal requirements while building stronger systems for behavioral health equity.
"This accreditation reflects our deep commitment to making behavioral health care as accessible for our members as any other form of care," said Dr. Brett Hart, Vice President of Behavioral Health and Mental Health Parity at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. "By earning URAC's Mental Health Parity Accreditation, we're demonstrating to our members, provider partners and the broader community that we are going beyond regulatory requirements to achieve the highest national standards available."
"This accomplishment reflects our entire team's dedication to providing members with access to important behavioral health services," said Lacey Bergh, Senior Vice President of Health Delivery at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota. "It is a tremendous achievement to be one of the first health plans to achieve full URAC accreditation for Mental Health Parity. This accreditation reinforces our commitment to improving health outcomes, ensuring balanced treatment and fostering the well-being of the communities we serve."
Even though the federal parity law has been in effect for more than a decade, many plans still face challenges in fully meeting its requirements. URAC developed this program to provide a consistent, third-party validated framework that health plans can use to demonstrate and sustain compliance as regulatory expectations continue to evolve.
"URAC created the Mental Health Parity Accreditation program to help organizations go beyond minimum compliance," said Shawn Griffin, MD, President and CEO of URAC. "There is still significant variation in how parity is interpreted and enforced. This accreditation brings structure, clarity and national consistency. We commend Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota for demonstrating leadership in advancing mental health parity, even in the face of changing federal landscapes."
With parity regulations continuing to evolve, URAC's Mental Health Parity Accreditation offers a clear path forward for organizations committed to strengthening their behavioral health strategies. This recognition reinforces a growing industry shift toward more consistent, accountable mental health coverage.
To learn more about URAC’s Mental Health Parity Accreditation, visit www.urac.org.
About URAC
At URAC, we are driven by our values, including the bedrock of "we value people." We believe that every patient deserves safe, high-quality care, no matter where or how they access it.
For 35 years, we have acted as an independent nonprofit organization; we partner with experts and organizations across the industry to raise the bar through rigorous, evidence-based accreditation programs. From health equity to telehealth, pharmacies and health plans, our work ensures that health care organizations meet high benchmarks across the industry. From our background in health care, we've grown to include a mental health at work program that can assist organizations in every industry address the mental health of their workforce. URAC is proud to have earned Modern Healthcare's inaugural Best in Business Award in 2024.
A URAC accreditation isn’t just a seal of approval, it’s a promise to patients, partners and stakeholders that your organization is committed to quality, trust and innovation in patient care.
www.urac.org
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
For more than 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Bluecrossmn.com) has supported our members by ensuring access to high quality care at an affordable price. Our nearly 3 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota
BCBSND was founded in 1940 with the mission to provide members with affordable access to health care across the state. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), BCBSND is committed to transforming care and health across the state to improve outcomes, lower cost trends and make it easier to shop, buy and use health care coverage. Members have access to unmatched local service and to a comprehensive network of health care providers across the state, the nation and more than 190 countries.