Sec. 802. Action plan for enhanced enforcement of mental health and substance use disorder coverage
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/bill/114/hr/2646/rh/section-802A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall convene a public meeting of stakeholders described in paragraph
(2)to produce an action plan for improved Federal and State coordination related to the enforcement of mental health parity and addiction equity requirements. The stakeholders described in this paragraph shall include each of the following: The Federal Government, including representatives from— the Department of Health and Human Services; the Department of the Treasury; the Department of Labor; and the Department of Justice. State governments, including— State health insurance commissioners; appropriate State agencies, including agencies on public health or mental health; and State attorneys general or other representatives of State entities involved in the enforcement of mental health parity laws. Representatives from key stakeholder groups, including— the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; health insurance providers; providers of mental health and substance use disorder treatment; employers; and patients or their advocates. Not later than 6 months after the public meeting under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall finalize the action plan described in such subsection and make it plainly available on the Internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services. The action plan under this section shall— reflect the input of the stakeholders invited to the public meeting under subsection (a); identify specific strategic objectives regarding how the various Federal and State agencies charged with enforcement of mental health parity and addiction equity requirements will collaborate to improve enforcement of such requirements; provide a timeline for implementing the action plan; and provide specific examples of how such objectives may be met, which may include— providing common educational information and documents to patients about their rights under Federal or State mental health parity and addiction equity requirements; facilitating the centralized collection of, monitoring of, and response to patient complaints or inquiries relating to Federal or State mental health parity and addiction equity requirements, which may be through the development and administration of a single, toll-free telephone number and an Internet website portal; Federal and State law enforcement agencies entering into memoranda of understanding to better coordinate enforcement responsibilities and information sharing, including whether such agencies should make the results of enforcement actions related to mental health parity and addiction equity requirements publicly available; and recommendations to the Secretary and Congress regarding the need for additional legal authority to improve enforcement of mental health parity and addiction equity requirements, including the need for additional legal authority to ensure that nonquantitative treatment limitations are applied, and the extent and frequency of the applications of such limitations, both to medical and surgical benefits and to mental health and substance use disorder benefits in a comparable manner.