Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 Notices

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
1210-0138 MHPAEA Supporting Statement 8.1.23 (clean).docx Supporting Statement A	2023-08-01
Self-Compliance Tool for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).pdf Supplementary Document	2021-03-24
FAQs Part 39 - FINAL.docx Supplementary Document	2019-08-27

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
246377	Requirements under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the MHPAEA FAQ 45 Other-Compliance Assistance Guidance	Modified
227109	Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Parity Disclosure Request, Model Notice Other-Model Notice	Modified
191431	Notice of Medical Necessity Criteria under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0138	ICR Reference No: 202305-1210-003
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202108-1210-015
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 Notices
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 08/03/2023

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	10/31/2024
Responses	1,323,153	1,413,420
Time Burden (Hours)	941,555	3,127,677
Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,091,047	330,779

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Abstract: The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) was enacted on October 3, 2008 as sections 511 and 512 of the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 (Division C of Public Law 110-343). MHPAEA amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code). In 1996, Congress enacted the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which required parity in aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits for mental health benefits and medical and surgical benefits. Those mental health parity provisions were codified in section 712 of ERISA, section 2705 of the PHS Act, and section 9812 of the Code. The changes made by MHPAEA are codified in these same sections and consist of new requirements as well as amendments to several of the existing mental health parity provisions applicable to group health plans and health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan. MHPAEA and the interim final regulations do not apply to small employers who have between two and 50 employees. The changes made by MHPAEA are generally effective for plan years beginning after October 3, 2009. MHPAEA and the final regulations (29 CFR 2590.712(d)) require plan administrators to disclose the criteria for medical necessity determinations with respect to mental health and substance use disorder benefits. These third-party disclosures are information collection requests for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. In response to provisions of the Cures Act requires the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments), are providing a model form that participants, enrollees, or their authorized representatives could use to request information from their health plan or issuer regarding NQTLs that may affect their MH/SUD benefits, or to obtain documentation after an adverse benefit determination involving MH/SUD benefits to support an appeal.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 29 USC 1185a Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
   US Code: 42 USC 300gg-5 Name of Law: Public Health Service Act
   PL: Pub.L. 116 - 260 203 Name of Law: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
   US Code: 26 USC 9812 Name of Law: Internal Revenue Code of 1986
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: PL: Pub.L. 116 - 260 203 Name of Law: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
1210-AC11	Proposed rulemaking	88 FR 51552	08/03/2023

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 3

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Parity Disclosure Request, Model Notice
Notice of Medical Necessity Criteria under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
Requirements under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the MHPAEA FAQ 45

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	1,323,153	1,413,420	0	0	-90,267	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	941,555	3,127,677	0	0	-2,186,122	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	1,091,047	330,779	0	0	760,268	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The Departments are proposing amendments to regulations implementing MHPAEA and proposes new regulations for the comparative analyses required under MHPAEA, as amended by the CAA, 2021. Specifically, this rule would amend existing and add new definitions, amend the existing NQTL standard to prevent plans and issuers from using NQTLs to place greater limits on access to MH/SUD benefits as compared to medical/surgical benefits, and add additional examples on the application of NQTLs to clarify and safeguard the protections of MHPAEA. Additionally, these proposed rules would set forth the content requirements for the comparative analyses, and specify how plans and issuers must make these comparative analyses available to the Departments, any applicable State authority, and to participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. In addition, the data inputs, mailing costs, and wage rates have been updated. As a result, the number of responses has decreased by 90,267, the hour burden has decreased by 2,186,122 hours, and the cost burden has increased by 760,268.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $26,132,793

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? Yes

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 08/03/2023

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