U.S. Labor Department’s EBSA Extends Parity Rule Covering Mental Health Benefits

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced a technical amendment extending the interim final rules under the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) to December 31, 2007. MHPA provides health insurance parity between mental health benefits and other medical/surgical coverage relating to annual and lifetime caps on benefits.

President Bush extended the sunset date of MHPA when he signed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (P. L. 109-432, 120 Stat. 2922) on December 20, 2006. When originally signed into law in 1996, the MHPA contained a sunset provision stating that the act would not apply to benefits for services furnished on or after September 30, 2001. Since then, MHPA has been amended five times to extend the sunset date.

MHPA requires that annual or lifetime dollar limits for mental heath benefits be no lower than the dollar limits for medical/surgical benefits offered by a group health plan. The act applies to group health plans or health insurance coverage offered by issuers in connection with a group health plan that offers both mental health and medical/surgical benefits. However, it does not require plans to offer mental health benefits.

The technical amendment extending the sunset date is to be published in the February 27, 2007 issue of the Federal Register. For more information about mental health benefits, contact EBSA, toll-free, at 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) or visit the agency’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa to obtain a free copy of “Questions and Answers: Recent Changes in Health Care Law.”

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.