Proposed Rule2023-21177
Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act; Extension of Comment Period
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 28, 2023
Effective
August 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentInternal Revenue ServiceLabor DepartmentEmployee Benefits Security AdministrationHealth and Human Services Department
Abstract
This document extends the comment period for the proposed rules entitled "Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act" that were published in the August 3, 2023, issue of the Federal Register. The comment period for the proposed rules, which had been scheduled to close on October 2, 2023, is extended 15 days to October 17, 2023.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66728-66730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21177]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 54
[REG-120727-21]
RIN 1545-BQ29
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
29 CFR Part 2590
RIN 1210-AC11
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
45 CFR Parts 146 and 147
[CMS-9902-P]
RIN 0938-AU93
Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction
Equity Act; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Employee
Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor; Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Proposed rules; extension of comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document extends the comment period for the proposed
rules entitled ``Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and
Addiction Equity Act'' that were published in the August 3, 2023, issue
of the Federal Register. The comment period for the proposed rules,
which had been scheduled to close on October 2, 2023, is extended 15
days to October 17, 2023.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rules published August 3,
2023, at 88 FR 51552, is extended. To be assured consideration,
comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below, no
later than October 17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to the addresses specified
below. Any comment that is submitted will be shared with the Department
of the Treasury (Treasury Department), Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Please do not
submit duplicates.
Comments will be made available to the public. Warning: Do not
include any personally identifiable information
[[Page 66729]]
(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All
comments are posted on the internet exactly as received and can be
retrieved by most internet search engines. No deletions, modifications,
or redactions will be made to the comments received, as they are public
records. Comments may be submitted anonymously.
In commenting, please refer to file code 1210-AC11. Because of
staff and resource limitations, the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot
accept comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission.
Comments, including mass comment submissions, must be submitted in
one of the following two ways (please choose only one of the ways
listed):
1. Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this
regulation to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the ``Submit a
comment'' instructions.
2. By mail. You may mail written comments to the following address
ONLY: Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance,
Employee Benefits Security Administration, Room N-5653, U.S. Department
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, Attention:
1210-AC11.
Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received
before the close of the comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shira McKinlay, Internal Revenue
Service, Department of the Treasury, at 202-317-5500; Beth Baum or
David Sydlik, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor, at 202-693-8335; David Mlawsky, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services, Department of Health and Human Services, at 410-786-6851.
Customer Service Information
Individuals interested in obtaining information from DOL concerning
private employment-based health coverage laws may call the Employee
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Toll-Free Hotline at 1-866-444-
EBSA (3272) or visit the DOL's website (<a href="http://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa">www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa</a>).
In addition, information from HHS on private health insurance
coverage and coverage provided by self-funded, non-Federal governmental
group health plans can be found on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) website (<a href="http://www.cms.gov/cciio">www.cms.gov/cciio</a>), and information on health
care reform can be found at <a href="http://www.Healthcare.gov">www.Healthcare.gov</a> or <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/index.html">https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/index.html</a>. In addition, information about mental and
behavioral health and addiction is available at <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health">https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health</a> and <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/find-support">https://www.samhsa.gov/find-support</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the proposed rules, ``Requirements
Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act,''
released by the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and HHS
(collectively, the Departments) on July 25, 2023, and published in the
Federal Register on August 3, 2023 (88 FR 51552), the Departments
solicited public comments on proposals to amend the regulations that
implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and
Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and establish new regulations for
the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses
required under MHPAEA, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2021. The proposed rules would amend the existing NQTL standard to
prevent group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group
or individual health insurance coverage that provides both medical and
surgical benefits and mental health or substance use disorder benefits
from using NQTLs to place greater limits on access to mental health and
substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical/surgical
benefits. As part of these proposed changes, the proposed rules would
require plans and issuers to collect and evaluate relevant data in a
manner reasonably designed to assess the impact of NQTLs on access to
mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical
benefits, and propose a special rule for NQTLs related to network
composition. The proposed rules also would amend existing examples and
add new examples on the application of the rules for NQTLs to clarify
and illustrate the protections of MHPAEA. In addition, the proposed
rules would set forth the content requirements for NQTL comparative
analyses and specify how plans and issuers must make these comparative
analyses available to the Departments, as well as to an applicable
State authority, and participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. The
Departments also solicited comments on whether there are ways to
improve the coverage of mental health and substance use disorder
benefits through other provisions of Federal law. Additionally, HHS
proposed amendments to implement the sunset provision for self-funded,
non-Federal governmental plan elections to opt out of compliance with
MHPAEA, as adopted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The
comment period for the proposed rules was scheduled to close on October
2, 2023.
Additionally, on July 25, 2023, DOL, in collaboration with HHS and
the Treasury Department, issued Technical Release 2023-01P.\1\ The
Technical Release sets out principles and seeks public comment to
inform future guidance with respect to the application of the proposed
data collection and evaluation requirements to NQTLs related to network
composition and a potential time-limited enforcement safe harbor for
plans and issuers that include data in their comparative analyses that
demonstrates they meet or exceed all of the thresholds identified in
future guidance with respect to NQTLs related to network composition.
Specifically, the Technical Release solicits feedback on the type,
form, and manner for the data that plans and issuers would be required
to include, along with other relevant data as appropriate, as part of
their comparative analyses for NQTLs related to network composition
which must be submitted to the Departments upon request. The Technical
Release also solicits feedback on how to define certain thresholds for
required data and a potential time-limited enforcement safe harbor to
be specified in future guidance that, if satisfied, would demonstrate
to the Departments that a plan or coverage provides comparable access
to in-network providers for mental health and substance use disorder
benefits as compared to medical/surgical benefits. In turn, if all of
these safe harbor thresholds are met or exceeded, the plan or issuer
would not be subject to Federal enforcement under MHPAEA with respect
to NQTLs related to network composition for a specified period of time.
Comments on Technical Release 2023-01P should be sent via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9af7f2eafbfffbb4e8fcf9b4fff8e9fbdafef5f6b4fdf5ec"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ff92978f9e9a9ed18d999cd19a9d8c9ebf9b9093d1989089">[email protected]</span></a>. All comments on Technical Release 2023-01P
submitted to DOL will be shared with HHS, the IRS, and the Treasury
Department and posted on DOL's Employee Benefits Security
Administration's (EBSA) website. The comment period for Technical
Release 2023-01P was scheduled to close on October 2, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Technical Release 2023-01P: Request for Comment on
Proposed Relevant Data Requirements for Nonquantitative Treatment
Limitations (NQTLs) Related to Network Composition and Enforcement
Safe Harbor for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers
Subject to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (July
25, 2023), available at <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/guidance/technical-releases/23-01">https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/guidance/technical-releases/23-01</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the publication of the proposed rules in the Federal Register
and the release of Technical Release 2023-01P on EBSA's website, there
has been considerable interest expressed in these
[[Page 66730]]
documents, and some interested parties have requested additional time
to review and submit comments. The Departments value public feedback as
they consider whether and how to issue final rules and future guidance.
In response to these requests, the Departments are extending the period
for submitting comments on the proposed rules to October 17, 2023.
Additionally, to ensure consistency with the comment period for the
proposed rules, DOL is simultaneously extending the comment period for
Technical Release 2023-01P to October 17, 2023. To be assured
consideration, comments on the proposed rules and Technical Release
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
must be received no later than October 17, 2023.
Dated: September 22, 2023.
Douglas W. O'Donnell,
Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, Internal Revenue
Service.
Lisa M. Gomez,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits, Security Administration,
Department of Labor.
Xavier Becerra,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2023-21177 Filed 9-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 28, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.