Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued their Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Action Plan. Congress included a provision in Section 13002 of the 21^st Century Cutes Act requiring HHS to create this Action Plan detailing recent and planned actions from the Departments of HHS, Labor, and Treasury related to ongoing implementation of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).

MHPAEA was passed in October 2008 to end discriminatory health care practices against those with mental illness and/or addiction. The statute provides that plans cannot apply financial requirements or treatment limitations to mental health or substance use disorder benefits that are more restrictive than as applied to medical/surgical benefits.

While MHPAEA expanded access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment, over the last decade the opioid misuse and addiction epidemic has and continues to take a terrible toll on our nation. Despite MHPAEA, patients continue to experience limited or discriminatory access to their substance use and mental health treatment benefits.

In addition to the Action Plan, HHS along with the Departments of Labor and Treasury are releasing additional guidance products including FAQ Part #39, a Self-Compliance Tool for the MHPAEA, and a Model Disclosure Form.

The Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Action Plan can be found here.