Sec. 211. Mental health parity

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Not later than January 1, 2025, the Inspector General of the Department of Labor, in coordination with the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives on the following: The non-quantitative treatment limit (referred to in this section as NQTL ) requirements with respect to mental health and substance use disorder benefits under group health plans and health insurance issuers under section 2726(a)(8) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–26(a)(8) ), section 712(a)(8) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185a(a)(8) ), and section 9812(a)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (referred to in this section as the NQTL comparative analysis requirements ), and the requirements for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations, a compliance program guide, and additional guidance documents and tools providing guidance relating to mental health parity requirements under section 2726(a) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–26(a) ), section 712(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185a(a) ), and section 9812(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

With respect to the NQTL comparative analysis requirements described in paragraph (1), an analysis of the actions taken by the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide guidance to ensure that group health plans and health insurance issuers can fully comply with mental health parity requirements under section 2726 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–26 ), section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185a ), and section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the NQTL comparative analysis requirements described in paragraph (1), including an analysis of— the extent to which the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services have fulfilled the requirement under section 203(b) of division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( Public Law 116–260 ) to issue the specific guidance and regulations pertaining to the requirements for group health plans and health insurance issuers to demonstrate compliance with the NQTL comparative analysis requirements; and whether sufficient guidance and examples from the Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of the Treasury exist to guide and assist group health plans and health insurance issuers in complying with the requirements to demonstrate compliance with mental health parity NQTL comparative analysis requirements/under such sections 2726(a)(8), 712(a)(8), and 9812(a)(8).

A review of the enforcement processes of the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate the consistency of interpretation of the requirements under section 2726(a)(8) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–26(a)(8) , section 712(a)(8) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185a(a)(8) ), and section 9812(a)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, in particular with respect to processes utilized for enforcement, actions or inactions that constitute noncompliance, and avoidance among the agencies of duplication of enforcement, including an evaluation of compliance with section 104 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104–191 ).

A review of the implementation, by the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury, of mental health parity requirements under section 2726 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–26 ), section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185a ), and section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including all such requirements in effect through the enactment of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104–204 ), the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 ( Public Law 110–460 ), the 21st Century Cures Act ( Public Law 114–255 ), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 ( Public Law 117–328 ) (including any amendments made by such Acts), and including with respect to the timing of all actions, delays of any actions, reasons for any such delays, mandated requirements that were met only once but not each time such requirements were mandated.

In this section, the terms group health plan and health insurance issuer have the meanings given such terms in section 733 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1191b ).

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