bhoffman | July 19, 2010
CCH® BENEFITS, www.hr.cch.com
On July 1, the Employee Benefit Security Administration provided a temporary safe harbor for outpatient mental health benefit provisions that commonly require a copayment for office visits (for example, physician or psychologist visits) but coinsurance for other outpatient services (for example, outpatient surgery, facility charges for day treatment centers, laboratory charges, or other [...]
Category: ERISA, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | July 9, 2010
By Joanne Wojcik of Business Insurance, www.businessinsurance.com
WASHINGTON—Until final mental health parity rules are issued, federal authorities will offer a temporary reprieve to employers that offer different levels of coverage for certain mental health outpatient services.
Because many employers use copayments for medical office visits and coinsurance for all other outpatient medical services, neither one of those [...]
Category: Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | May 19, 2010
Compliance stymied by health reforms, complexity: Firms
Joanne Wojcik
WASHINGTON—Groups representing employers are asking the Employee Benefits Security Administration to delay the application of mental health parity regulations for at least a year, saying they were caught off guard by certain provisions and have been distracted by the passage of health care reform.
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | May 12, 2010
The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing America’s major employers, yesterday submitted comments on interim final regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury published the interim final regulations in the Federal [...]
Category: ERIC, Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | May 12, 2010
By ROBERT PEAR
A huge fight has erupted over rules issued by the Obama administration to enforce a 2008 law that requires equal insurance coverage for the treatment of mental and physical illnesses.
The fight offers a taste of the coming battle over rules to remake the health care system under legislation pushed through Congress by President [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | April 20, 2010
[Coalition for Parity, Inc. v. Sebelius, 2010 WL 1253172 (D.D.C. 2010)]
A coalition of managed behavioral healthcare organizations (MBHOs) has filed a lawsuit against the DOL, HHS, and Treasury to block implementation of regulations issued to enforce provisions of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). (For [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | April 20, 2010
April 7, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com)
A coalition of mental health care benefits organizations has filed a suit seeking to prevent the implementation of an interim final rule requiring parity for mental health benefits.
Business Insurance reports that the suit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Washington by the Coalition for Parity Inc. alleges that regulators failed [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | April 13, 2010
In case you missed our Webinar today, you may review the PowerPoint slides by clicking the link below or listen to the audio presentation by clicking the “Webinars” link at the right-hand side of this page.
click here!
Category: Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | March 22, 2010
A recent survey of 70 Fortune 500 employers that offer mental health benefits found that none of the companies eliminated their mental health or substance abuse coverage because of the 2008 Mental Health Parity Act.
According to the Hewitt Associates survey, all of the respondents eliminated their annual and lifetime maximums for mental health benefits as [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | March 12, 2010
Kaiserhealthnews.org
By Sandra G. Boodman
Mar 02, 2010
This story was produced in collaboration with our partner
Denise Camp was resigned to the double standard that had long applied to her medical bills, forcing her to skimp on other expenses so she could pay for mental health treatment.
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | February 17, 2010
An Overview of the MHPAEA Regulation Requirements
By Jennifer M. McCormick, Esq. of The Phia Group, LLC
Joint issuance of the interim final mental health parity regulations by the DOL, DHHS, and Treasury offer guidance for employers in ensuring compliance with the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).
Category: Mental Health Parity, Summary Plan Description |
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Adam V. Russo | February 5, 2010
Mental health and substance abuse care can’t be handled differently from medical and surgical treatment, according to the new rules. Also, employee assistance programs cannot serve as mental health care gatekeepers, benefit experts say.
Employers would no longer be permitted to require separate deductibles for mental health and medical treatment under new proposed parity rules issued [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | February 5, 2010
By ROBERT PEAR – The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration issued new rules on Friday that promise to improve insurance coverage of mental health care for more than 140 million people insured through their jobs.
In general, under the rules, employers and group health plans cannot provide less coverage for mental health care than [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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Adam V. Russo | February 5, 2010
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury have jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.
The new rules prohibit group health insurance plans — typically offered by employers — from restricting access to care [...]
Category: Health Care Legislation, Mental Health Parity |
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