DOL Celebrates First Annual Mental Health Day

DOL Celebrates First Annual Mental Health Day

On May 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) commemorated the first annual Mental Health Day of Action. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh released a video discussing his own mental health challenges and reminding everyone that mental health challenges are normal and there are resources available to help. The Department also created two webpages – one for employers and one for employees.

The employer page, “4 Mental Health Resources for Employers,” includes the following resources:

  1. Compliance Assistance Webcast. The webcast, which initially aired on May 27, 2021, provides an overview of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and the new comparative analysis and documentation requirements set by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). The recording remains available web on this registration page. The DOL webcast speaker affirmed that employers sponsoring insured plans should confirm that the insurer has the required compliance comparative analysis as more fully described in our previous article on the mental health parity requirements here. Sponsors of self-funded plans should make it a condition of the TPA services agreement that the analysis will be accomplished.
  2. Self-Compliance Tool. DOL’s online self-compliance tool helps employers assess whether their plans are in compliance with the MHPAEA and CAA requirements. The tool uses questions and examples regarding coverage limits, medical management standards, and other factors.
  3. Frequently Asked Questions. DOL has created a database of frequently asked questions regarding the MHPAEA and CAA law and requirements.
  4. Publications. The 8-page Health Benefits Laws Compliance Assistance Guide describes MHPAEA protections, non-quantitative treatment limitations, and explains which plans are subject to the law.

The employee page, “5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Benefits,” includes the following 5 tips to help workers understand the available protections for mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits:

  1. Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) protections. Generally, MHPAEA requires most health plans to apply similar rules to mental health and substance use disorder benefits (MH/SUD benefits) as to physical health benefits.
  2. Employees should verify whether their health plan offers mental health and substance use disorder benefits (MH/SUD benefits). The MHPAEA protections apply to employer health plans offering MH/SUD benefit coverage. Employees are encouraged to review their summary plan description to identify their benefits and rights under the plan.
  3. Health plans must apply comparable copays and can’t impose separate deductibles and yearly visits, etc. for MH/SUD care and other medical services. For example, a health plan can’t impose a $30 copay for substance use disorder visits, but no copay for chiropractic visits.
  4. Employees are entitled to documents related to their health plan’s MH/SUD benefits and other medical benefits. For instance, if an employer plan only covers medically necessary treatments, employees should request the plan’s medical necessity criteria for MH/SUD benefits, and verify the plan is applying the criteria in a comparable way.
  5. Employees can request information and file appeals. Employees have the right to request information about the limitation the health plan used to deny a claim, and the right to file an appeal, if they suspect the health plan wrongfully denied a MH/SUD health claim.

DOL Celebrates First Annual Mental Health Dayhttps://www.cbiz.com/Portals/0/Images/GettyImages-1199664822.jpg?ver=2021-06-07-125317-000DOL offers resources to employers, including a webcast and an online self-compliance tool to assess plans under the new mental health parity comparative analysis requirements.2021-06-07T16:00:00-05:00DOL offers resources to employers, including a webcast andan online self-compliance tool to assess plans under the new mental healthparity comparative analysis requirements.Regulatory, Compliance, & LegislativeEmployee Benefits ComplianceNo