A recent court filing offers a reprieve to health plan sponsors in their efforts to comply with final regulations issued last year under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). In a motion to stay proceedings in a lawsuit challenging those regulations, the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services notified the court that they intend to:
- Reconsider the regulations, with the possibility of rescinding or modifying the rules.
- Issue a policy of non-enforcement for the new regulatory requirements taking effect in 2025 and 2026.
- Re-examine their enforcement policy under the MHPAEA more broadly.
The court granted the departments’ motion, giving them time to undertake their review, but requiring them to report back to the court on their progress every 90 days.
The 2024 regulations set forth complicated rules on how health plans and health insurers need to conduct and document a comparative analysis required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021. Health plans and insurers remain subject to the CAA’s statutory requirement to analyze how nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) for mental health and substance use disorder benefits compare to NQTLs for medical and surgical benefits. But, having struggled to find sensible ways to comply with the very detailed 2024 rules, plans and insurers will welcome the temporary relief of the non-enforcement policy and the potential permanent relief that may come from a reconsideration of the departments’ positions.
Attorneys in our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group are closely monitoring the court’s stay and regulators’ actions and are available for counsel.
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