Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Religious Accommodations—Vaccinations; DOL Mental Health Parity Audits
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and its implementing regulations and guidance (MHPAEA) prohibit health insurance policies and group health plans that cover mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD)...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Tri-Departments”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on August 3, 2023, to propose new regulations for the...more
On July 1, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) submitted final regulations to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) as most recently amended by the...more
It was a lively year for health benefits. Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group unpacks 2023, from the end of the COVID-19 emergencies to the much-anticipated Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
The time may have come to add a welfare plan committee to your company’s governance of employee benefit plans. New legal obligations and other developments impose fiduciary risks for welfare plans similar to what already...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) added a requirement for health plans to document their compliance with nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more
The August Monthly Minute presents Part II of our mental health parity update and provides highlights of the latest report to Congress on NQTL comparative analyses. While service providers lead the way through mental health...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires group health plans and insurers to cover treatments for mental health and substance use disorders in a manner that is equitable to the...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Treasury (collectively, the Departments) recently issued proposed Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)...more
On July 25, 2023, HHS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (the Departments) issued proposed rules (Proposed Rules) and other information regarding health plan and issuer compliance with mental health...more
Now you know. It could not be any clearer to employers that compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) will be a—maybe the—top health and welfare benefit priority for federal...more
On July 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released their annual report to the U.S. Congress regarding group health...more
Last week, the departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services (collectively, the Departments) published long-awaited proposed regulations intended to clarify and improve compliance with the federal mental...more
On July 25, 2023, the tri-agencies of the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) issued a compendium of guidance designed to facilitate compliance with the Nonquantitative Treatment...more
Plan sponsors, insurers, and third-party administrators should pay close attention to the new guidance to facilitate health plan compliance with complex nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses requirements....more
On December 29, 2022, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (“CAA, 2023”), into law. The CAA, 2023, which is largely a bipartisan spending bill, sunsets provisions of the Public Health Service Act...more
Summary - The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, (CAA) and transparency regulations introduced major changes to health benefit plans. These changes continue to evolve with some requirements just now taking effect....more
Regulators are now better armed to cite and fine health plans that are not complying with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008. A recent report to Congress highlights the enforcement work to date...more
Introduction. When the U.S. Department of Labor issued its biennial 2022 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”) Report to Congress earlier this year, it outlined significant noncompliance by health plans....more
Over the last two years, behavioral health (BH) has been one of the biggest growth areas in the health care ecosystem, fueled by the Public Health Emergency (PHE) but in many ways an ignored, overlooked, understaffed, and...more
The widely publicized 2022 Report to Congress regarding the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“Parity Act”) forewarned greater enforcement efforts by the Department of Labor and highlighted suspected deficiencies...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) adopted a series of transparency requirements that apply to employer-sponsored group health plans. These transparency rules impose a series of new and complex obligations...more
On January 25, 2022, the U.S. Departments of Labor (“DOL”), Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) provided a report (the “Report”) on Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”) compliance...more