- A Leader’s Edge article examines how the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) is impacting insurers and increasing the federal government’s ability to enforce mental health parity. Even though previous laws – namely, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Affordable Care Act – required plans that offered mental health benefits to have the same benefit limitations for both physical and mental health, experts acknowledge there was “widespread noncompliance” among plans. Under the CAA, the federal government created a comparative analysis tool that insurers are required to use to determine if they are complying. According to the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), none of the initial comparative analyses received from vendors were complete. However, according to most experts, plan fiduciaries weren’t intentionally being discriminatory or blindly ignoring the law; they were likely “tripped up” by several complex factors that go into both ensuring that a plan complies and creating a complete comparative analysis. (Article here)
November 14, 2022
Payers