A report to Congress on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 suggests that benefits for mental health conditions are falling short of parity. | Tiyo Prasetyo/Pixabay
A required report presented by the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury to Congress shows that health plans and health insurance issuers are failing to deliver parity of benefits for people they cover who have mental health and substance-use disorders.
The governmental departments on Jan. 25 issued the “2022 Report to Congress on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008,” that suggested the failures, according to a press release.
“The report also highlights the departments’ recent emphasis on greater MHPAEA enforcement in addition to guidance to correct those failures, and makes recommendations to strengthen MHPAEA’s consumer protections and enhance the departments’ enforce abilities,” the press release said.
Under MHPAEA, financial requirements and treatment limitations can’t be more restrictive for mental health conditions than for medical and surgical issues. An example of the lack of uniformity detailed in the report includes a health insurance issuer covering nutritional counseling for conditions like diabetes, but not mental health conditions such as eating disorders, the press release said.
“The report’s findings clearly indicate that health plans and insurance companies are falling short of providing parity in mental health and substance-use disorder benefits, at a time when those benefits are needed like never before,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said in the press release.
MHPAEA requires the Secretary of Labor to submit a report to Congressional committees on group health plans’ compliance with the act’s requirements, the report said.
