Federal Departments Announce Non-Enforcement Policy on 2024 MHPAEA Regulations
On Thursday, May 15, the Departments of HHS, Labor, and the Treasury announced a non-enforcement policy on the September 2024 joint regulations to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act issued under President Biden (the “MHPAEA” and the “2024 Regs”).
Specifically, the agencies announced that, until the resolution of a lawsuit challenging the 2024 Regs and for 18 months thereafter, they will not pursue enforcement action with respect to the 2024 Regs, including the “meaningful benefits” standard, the outcomes data rule, and the fiduciary certification requirement for comparative analyses on nonquantitative treatment limitations (“NQTLs”), set to take effect in 2025 and 2026.
Importantly, the non-enforcement policy applies only to the 2024 Regs, not to the statutory requirements of the MHPAEA, published in 2013. As such, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and employers sponsoring group health plans should continue to comply with their obligations under the MHPAEA, including to prepare, update, and document their comparative analyses on any NQTLs (without fiduciary certification).
The non-enforcement policy comes after a U.S. District Court granted a motion to stay in ERISA Industry Committee v. HHS et al., a case that challenges the 2024 Regs. The motion effectively halted the proceedings after the departments, under new direction from President Trump, expressed intent to reevaluate the 2024 Regs, possibly undertake a new rulemaking process to revise or rescind them, and determine enforcement responsibilities among the agencies.
D+G intends to carefully monitor and provide updates on any developments regarding the MPHAEA Regs which, whether amended or not, may still significantly impact obligations to plans and plan participants.