Sec. 13002. ACTION PLAN FOR ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER COVERAGE
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## SEC. 13002 ACTION PLAN FOR ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER COVERAGE ###
(a)Public meeting ####
(1)In general 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 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 any comparable provisions of State law (in this section such sections and provisions are collectively referred to as “mental health parity and addiction equity requirements”). ####
(2)Stakeholders The stakeholders described in this paragraph shall include each of the following: #####
(A)The Federal Government, including representatives from— ######
(i)the Department of Health and Human Services; ######
(ii)the Department of the Treasury; ######
(iii)the Department of Labor; and ######
(iv)the Department of Justice. #####
(B)State governments, including— ######
(i)State health insurance commissioners; ######
(ii)appropriate State agencies, including agencies on public health or mental health; and ######
(iii)State attorneys general or other representatives of State entities involved in the enforcement of mental health parity and addiction equity requirements. #####
(C)Representatives from key stakeholder groups, including— ######
(i)the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; ######
(ii)health insurance issuers; ######
(iii)providers of mental health and substance use disorder treatment; ######
(iv)employers; and ######
(v)patients or their advocates. ###
(b)Action Plan Not later than 6 months after the conclusion of 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. ###
(c)Content The action plan under this section shall— ####
(1)take into consideration the recommendations of the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force in its final report issued in October of 2016, and any subsequent Federal and State actions in relation to such recommendations; ####
(2)reflect the input of the stakeholders participating in the public meeting under subsection (a); ####
(3)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; ####
(4)provide a timeline for implementing the action plan; and ####
(5)provide specific examples of how such objectives may be met, which may include— #####
(A)providing common educational information and documents, such as the Consumer Guide to Disclosure Rights, to patients about their rights under mental health parity and addiction equity requirements; #####
(B)facilitating the centralized collection of, monitoring of, and response to patient complaints or inquiries relating to mental health parity and addiction equity requirements, which may be through the development and administration of— ######
(i)a single, toll-free telephone number; and ######
(ii)a new parity website— ######
(I)to help consumers find the appropriate Federal or State agency to assist with their parity complaints, appeals, and other actions; and ######
(II)that takes into consideration, but is not duplicative of, the parity beta site being tested, and released for public comment, by the Department of Health and Human Services as of the date of the enactment of this Act; #####
(C)Federal and State law enforcement agencies entering into memoranda of understanding to better coordinate enforcement responsibilities and information sharing— ######
(i)including whether such agencies should make the results of enforcement actions related to mental health parity and addiction equity requirements publicly available; and ######
(ii)which may include State Policy Academies on Parity Implementation for State Officials and other forums to bring together national experts to provide technical assistance to teams of State officials on strategies to advance compliance with mental health parity and addiction equity requirements in both the commercial market, and in the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program under title XXI of such Act; and #####
(D)recommendations to the 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.
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Sec. 13002
ACTION PLAN FOR ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER COVERAGE
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