Realizing Parity, Reducing Stigma, and Raising Awareness: Increasing Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Coverage (2022 MHPAEA Report to Congress) [dol.gov]

From Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury, February 2022

PREFACE

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) requires the Secretary of Labor to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress on compliance by group health plans (and health insurance coverage offered in connection with such plans) with MHPAEA’s requirements. The first such report was due by January 2012, and additional reports have been delivered every two years since.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2012 and 2014 Reports to Congress provided an overview of the interim final rules, final rules, and related guidance that implement MHPAEA. The 2012 and 2014 Reports also described DOL’s general strategy of working with plans, issuers, consumers, providers, states, and other stakeholders to help the regulated community comply with the law and help families and individuals understand the law and benefit from it, as Congress intended.

In addition to summarizing recent guidance issued by DOL, the 2016 Report to Congress detailed DOL’s significant enforcement efforts and provided numerous examples of situations in which DOL was able to intervene on behalf of participants and beneficiaries to ensure that they received coverage for the health care to which they were entitled.

[Please click here to access the report.]