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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    ERISA

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, September 14, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will provide benefits counsel and advisers with guidance on overcoming challenges in ensuring compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) rules and requirements for plan sponsors and insurers. The panel will discuss the requirements of MHPAEA for health plans that provide mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) requirements, ERISA disclosure requirements, DOL enforcement of parity violations, and best practices for ensuring compliance with MHPAEA rules.

Faculty

Bailey N. Wendzel
Attorney
Parent: Epstein Becker & Green PC

Ms. Wendzel brings a client-focused approach and analytical mindset to assist clients across a diverse range of matters including behavioral health, fraud and abuse, health care regulatory compliance, telehealth, and government investigations and litigation matters. Clients turn to her for her creative and practical approach to managing liabilities, resolving disputes, and providing solutions to regulatory and compliance challenges. Ms. Wendzel assists a broad range of clients including health insurers, telehealth providers, healthcare startups, providers and provider groups, hospitals and health systems, life science companies, and more.

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Roberta Casper Watson
Partner
The Wagner Law Group, LLP

Ms. Watson focuses on ERISA and employee benefits. She concentrates on a wide array of areas including, pension and profit sharing plans, health and welfare benefit plans, including COBRA, HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act, ERISA fiduciary decision-making, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, benefits litigation backup, benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions, employee benefits aspects of family law, labor laws affecting employee benefits, other employee benefits and deferred Compensation, and employee benefit disputes and employee benefits claims.

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Devon Minnick
Attorney
Epstein Becker & Green PC

Ms. Minnick brings her enthusiasm, analytical skills, and client-focused approach to every healthcare matter. She regularly assists healthcare clients with various matters, such as managed care, behavioral health, Medicaid, Medicare, health privacy, and benefits issues. Before joining the firm, she was a health policy research associate at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She analyzed new legislation, regulations, and health policy in the Medicaid space. She also helped evaluate states’ Medicaid managed care contracts for a large project on managed care and reproductive health.

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Description

The requirements of the MHPAEA and DOL enforcement actions provide significant challenges for plan sponsors in ensuring that their health plans remain compliant. In addition to the strict requirements under the MHPAEA, health plans providing mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits must ensure compliance with CAA requirements and IRS and DOL regulations.

In 2021 the DOL announced a $15.6 million settlement related to violations of the MHPAEA and its intent to make health plan compliance a priority in enforcement actions and audits. In addition, the Employee Benefits Security Administration commenced an audit program for compliance with MHPAEA, including making requests for the "comparative analysis" required by the CAA.

All group health plans that provide MH/SUD benefits must comply with parity rules, with limited exceptions. Benefits counsel and advisers must address the risks to plan sponsors and insurers by reassessing current health plans, adhering to the MHPAEA rules and disclosure obligations under ERISA, and other issues that result in DOL audits or class action lawsuits. Under the CAA, plan sponsors must perform and document comparative analysis of the design and application of nonquantitative treatment limits (NQTLs) and the duty to disclose this analysis and related information to the DOL on request.

Listen as our panel discusses the legal requirements of the parity rules, CAA requirements, ERISA disclosure requirements, DOL enforcement of parity violations, and techniques for handling DOL health plan audits and plaintiff lawsuits.

Outline

  1. Overview of MHPAEA requirements and exceptions for plans providing MH/SUD benefits
  2. CAA comparative analysis requirements and other rules
  3. DOL, HHS, and Treasury guidance for MHPAEA and ERISA compliance
  4. DOL parity compliance enforcement and handling health plan audits
  5. Best practices for conducting internal audits of group health plans for MHPAEA compliance

Benefits

The panel will review these and other crucial questions:

  • MHPAEA legal requirements for plans providing MH/SUD benefits
  • DOL, HHS, and IRS guidance on MHPAEA compliance and implementation
  • CAA comparative analysis requirement for any NQTLs
  • Revised disclosure form for document requests and updated self-compliance tool
  • ERISA disclosure requirements for health plans providing MH/SUD benefits
  • DOL compliance enforcement and handling health plan audits