As families struggle to get behavioral health coverage, enforcement of parity laws lags

In 2011, Rocky and Keith Schwartz's two teenage sons both started exhibiting symptoms of mental illness and substance abuse.

Seven years and many ordeals later, the Lebanon, N.J., family has spent more than $300,000 out of pocket for their sons' treatment due to coverage denials, first by UnitedHealthcare and later by Cigna, their insurers through Keith's job. They filed six appeals, losing every time.