Progress is being made, but limitations remain for mental health and substance use disorders
Washington – The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury Department today announced that Report to Congress on Implementation and Enforcement of the Mental Health Parity Act and Addiction Fairness Act of 2024This will cover mental health and substance use disorder benefits on par with medical and surgical benefits, although group health plans and health insurance issuers are moving toward compliance with the Mental Health Parity Act and the Addiction Equity Act. This suggests that the requirements are still not met. .
This report strengthens and enforces MHPAEA protections and helps plan participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees access mental health and substance use disorder benefits compared to medical and surgical benefits. The report emphasizes the continued efforts of all sectors to ensure that they do not face greater barriers. The report also details steps the departments have taken to increase awareness of MHPAEA protections among participants, providers, and plan communities.
“Medicare plans and insurance companies continue to struggle with the lack of medical provision; Mental health and substance use disorder benefits are comparable, and the Department of Labor’s efforts have achieved redress and directly benefited more than 7.6 million participants in more than 72,000 plans. ” Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said: “Departments recently issued final regulations Increases protections for participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees when seeking access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits. It also provides details on the requirements that health insurance plans and issuers must follow, which the departments hope will improve access to benefits in the future. ”
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “Affordable access to mental health care and treatment for substance use disorders is not only an essential part of our nation’s health, it is also the law.” “Protecting and strengthening access to mental health and substance use services is a key component of President Biden’s unified agenda, as well as HHS’s Behavioral Health Workforce Strategy and Overdose Prevention Strategy. We will continue to ensure that all Americans receive the support and care they need and deserve.”
The Department’s Office of Employee Benefits Administration continues to take unprecedented steps to enforce the law and use its authority to the fullest to facilitate access to benefits. Mental health and substance use disorders process. Similarly, HHS, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, conducts MHPAEA enforcement activities in the individual and fully insured group markets in states where CMS has enforcement authority and for non-federal plans in all states. We are strengthening it.
“In implementing the Mental Health Parity Act and the Addiction Fairness Act; Employee benefits security management We are using our full powers under the law to help ensure that workers, their families, and beneficiaries do not face significant obstacles to accessing care. mental health conditions and substance use disorders,” said Lisa M. Gomez, assistant secretary for employee benefits. “As we strengthen and advance these efforts through regulatory, enforcement, and compliance assistance, EBSA is determined to deliver on the promise of the law. In this year’s report, we examine what plans and issuers are correcting. We focus not only on the need, but also on how plans and issuers are improving and moving in the right direction.”
This report provides an overview of Departments’ efforts to interpret, implement, and enforce the amendments to MHPAEA made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The CAA provided departments with an important new MHPAEA enforcement tool that requires plans and issuers to analyze and document their compliance with this rule. The Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation Act to Ensure Parity of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits and Medical/Surgical Benefits. The regulations also require departments to report their findings annually. Today’s report is the third such report and also satisfies the requirement that the Department of Labor issue biennial reports to Congress on population health plan compliance. – and health insurance coverage provided in connection with such plans. – With MHPAEA.
The report also details the departments’ continued efforts to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health conditions and substance use disorders that individuals often face. Additionally, as part of the report, the Departments are also releasing the unredacted 2024 Settlement Agreement between EBSA and the health plans. The agreement describes the actions the plan has agreed to take to remediate the alleged violations of the MHPAEA, setting out the plan of action and the types of things the issuer can do. We are committed to monitoring and addressing disparities in access to providers. The report also includes several examples based on enforcement experience that show how plans and issuers can amend to comply with the law.
Released with the 2024 Congressional Report: fiscal year 2023 MHPAEA Enforcement Fact Sheet it emphasizes Enforcement data and key findings from MHPAEA studies completed by EBSA and CMS in FY2023.
EBSA has primary enforcement jurisdiction over the MHPAEA for approximately 2.6 million health plans covering approximately 136 million workers, retirees, and their families. CMS has issued a notice to approximately 67 issuers in the individual and fully insured group markets in two states that do not substantially enforce the MHPAEA, as well as approximately 91,000 non-federal plans nationwide. It has enforcement jurisdiction.
