Recent Articles About Parity Regulations

The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury came out with regulations clarifying the parity act. According to some analysts, EAPs cannot serve as gatekeepers, unless a similar form of management is applied to medical benefits. Also employers cannot require employees to exhaust EAP benefits before they access mental health care if a similar requirement does not exist for accessing medical care. Many other experts have weighed in.

These articles and resources can help you get a grasp of the implications of parity for EAP:

• Fight Erupts Over Rules Issued for ‘Mental Health Parity’ Insurance Law New York Times 05/10/10.
  
  
• EAPA's Response: On April 30, 2010, EAPA developed a letter to federal regulators at the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, urging them to modify the interim final regulations of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The regulations currently categorize EAPs as a group health plan which could have potentially profound implications for EA programs around the country. You can read the letter HERE.
   
• Parity Overview: The Impact on Payors, Consumers and EAPs 03/30/10.
  
   
• New Mental Health Parity Regulations Answer Some Open Questions 02/23/10.
  
   
• SAMHSA panel discussion on the implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act 02/19/10.
  
   
• Mental Health Parity Interim Final Regulations 02/2/10.
  
   
• One parity goal reached, yet others remain - Four more doors must be opened in order to ensure fair, effective care for behavioral health. Ronald W. Manderscheid, PhD, Executive Director. NACBHDD. 02/2/10.
  
   
• Regulations clarify mental health parity act - Proposed federal rules would aid employers in implementing law. Business Insurance. 02/01/10.
   
• Department of Labor News Release About Parity Rules - Obama Administration issues rules requiring parity in treatment of mental, substance use disorders. Department of Labor. 01/29/10.
  
   
• The New Parity Law – What it Means for EAPs - by John Maynard, Ph.D., CEAP and Marina London, LCSW, CEAP. EA News. EAPA website. 10/10/09.



• To learn more about how to successfully implement parity, check out the latest issue of Research Works. The latest Research Works report provides guidance on mental health parity and the perspectives of leading employers across the country, including DuPont, the Houston Chronicle, JPMorgan Chase and Pitney Bowes. The report, Successful Employer Implementation of the Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, offers employers ways to implement effective mental health parity; manage the benefit to optimize quality and value; structure benefits to comply with law’s requirements; and integrate the new benefit with related employer programs.
  
   
• Visit the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health's Parity Page for key information, including: Parity Law Timeline, Interim Final Rule, Link to the Legislation, Results from Partnership Parity Employer Survey, Employer Parity Fact Sheet.