Kantor & Kantor, LLP: New Suit Highlights Closing Window for Thousands Denied UnitedHealthcare Mental Health and Addiction Coverage

The Wit v. United Behavioral Health class action was narrowed on appeal, leaving members to pursue benefit claims individually; the tolling period for those claims expired July 30, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of patients and family members has filed a federal lawsuit against United Behavioral Health (UBH), also known as Optum Behavioral Health, seeking payment for mental health and substance use disorder treatment that UBH refused to cover. The case, J.B. v. United Behavioral Health, Case No. 3:26-cv-08713-RS, was filed on August 20, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit alleges UBH used its own internal rulebook, called the "Level of Care Guidelines", to deny coverage for residential and outpatient treatment, even when patients' own doctors said that care was necessary. According to the complaint, UBH built these guidelines to be stricter than what doctors and mental health experts around the country considered appropriate care and used them to cut costs at the expense of patients who needed help. This new case builds on a landmark decision from a related case, Wit v. United Behavioral Health, in which a federal judge in the same court ruled after a full trial that UBH's guidelines from 2011 through 2017 did not reflect accepted medical standards and were adopted to save the company money, harming more than 65,000 members whose claims were wrongly denied.

Why This New Lawsuit Is Necessary

The Wit case originally covered all those affected as members of a class action, meaning one case could have addressed everyone's claims together. But after the ruling, an appeals court narrowed the case, and the part of the Wit lawsuit that could have paid individual members money for their denied claims was reversed. Because of that ruling, an individual lawsuit may now be the only route by which a Wit class member can seek payment of the benefits at issue.

Time is Running Out for Other Class Members to Act

While the Wit case was working its way through the courts, the legal deadline for individual class members to sue UBH for their own benefits was paused, or "tolled." That pause ended on July 30, 2026, meaning the clock has started running again. How much time remains depends on the terms of each member's plan and the circumstances of the individual claim, so members should get advice on their own situation rather than assume a single common deadline.

Because of this, other Wit class members, or their family members, who had a claim for residential, or outpatient behavioral health treatment denied by UBH between 2011 and 2017 should seek advice promptly. Waiting could mean losing the ability to recover those benefits.

How to Find Out Whether You Are Affected

Members and family members who believe a UBH behavioral health claim was denied between 201l and 2017 can review the eligibility criteria and submit their contact information and a brief description of their claim for a no-cost review to [email protected], or call (270) 632-8298. Submitting information does not create an attorney-client relationship.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bryan D. Thomson, Attorney at Law, PLLC; Lisa Kantor and Tim Rozelle of Kantor & Kantor, LLP; and David Lilienstein and Katie Spielman of DL Law Group.

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SOURCE Kantor & Kantor, LLP