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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    ERISA

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, September 23, 2025

  • 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.

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MSRP
$297.00
$247.00
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Discount expires 7/15/25

This course is $0 with these passes:

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, ERISA disclosure requirements, DOL enforcement of parity violations, and best practices for ensuring compliance with MHPAEA rules

Faculty

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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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 recent years, the DOL announced millions in settlements 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

I. Overview of MHPAEA requirements and exceptions for plans providing MH/SUD benefits

II. CAA comparative analysis requirements and other rules

III. DOL, HHS, and Treasury guidance for MHPAEA and ERISA compliance

IV. DOL parity compliance enforcement and handling health plan audits

V. 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