"Patients deserve the same access to mental health and substance-use disorder services as they do for any other medical condition -- it's that simple," said Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association.

"These priorities, coupled with the growing frustrations our members are expressing, should be a wake-up call for many health care stakeholders who think the status quo is acceptable and that the days of blank checks will never end," said Elizabeth Mitchell, president and CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH).

Anthem alleged that HaloMD had exploited the resolution process to submit ineligible claims and secure higher out-of-network payment awards.

Administrative waste costs the U.S. health care system an estimated $350 billion each year. This includes $266 billion that is attributed to administrative complexity and between $59 and $84 billion caused by fraud and abuse.

The proposed pay increase "is a step in the right direction, but it does not negate the compounding effects of rising inflation, record levels of uncompensated care and a growing uninsured population," Charlene MacDonald, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, said in a statement.

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill this week that sets new rules for how insurance carriers must handle prior authorizations for both drugs and certain health care services.

"The first quarter's $14.5 billion in transacted revenue was the highest Q1 figure we have seen in recent years," the report said.

This is only the latest disagreement involving the independent dispute resolution process since it took effect more than three years ago.