What’s happening: On May 15, the U.S. departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury announced that they will not enforce the 2024 mental health parity final rule that aimed to improve access to mental health services by requiring health plans to make changes when inadequate access is provided.
What else to know: The departments are not pursing enforcement actions because the ERISA Industry Committee challenged the 2024 final rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and a deadline in the case is approaching.
The 2024 final rule amended the 2013 final rule, implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and adding new rules around nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses requirements. This enforcement relief applies only with respect to portions of the 2024 final rule that are new in relation to the 2013 final rule. The agencies will undertake a broader reexamination of each department’s enforcement approach under the act.
