WASHINGTON – The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury today issued their 2022 Report to Congress on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. The report includes information that suggests health plans and health insurance issuers are failing to deliver parity for mental health and substance-use disorder benefits to those they cover. 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.

In general, MHPAEA requires that the financial requirements and treatment limitations – such as copayments and prior authorization requirements imposed by a group health plan or health insurance issuer on mental health or substance-use disorder benefits – cannot be more restrictive than the predominant financial requirements and treatment limitations that apply to substantially all medical and surgical benefits. The report cites specific examples of health plans and health insurance issuers failing to ensure parity. For example, a health insurance issuer covered nutritional counseling for medical conditions like diabetes, but not for mental health conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.

“The report’s findings clearly indicate that health plans and insurance companies are...

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