Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today called on Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su, and Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to oppose the Biden-Harris administration’s current proposed rules on mental health parity.

In a letter, Chairwoman Foxx urges the heads of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (Tri-Agencies) to work with Congress and stakeholders to ensure that any mental health parity rules are workable and improve patient care. She argues that the current proposals should not be finalized. 

In the letter, Foxx writes: “Rather than provide the clarity needed for compliance with statutory requirements, the Tri-Agencies’ proposed rules add requirements, such as collection of outcomes data, to determine compliance with mental health parity… Notably, the proposed rules fail to consider the multitude of factors affecting outcomes data which is outside the control of the plan or issuer, such as challenges impacting the supply of the mental health workforce and the quality of care provided.”
 
The letter continues by highlighting the issues with the rules following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Chevron deference: “Under Loper Bright, the Tri-Agencies do not have the authority to create new tests for NQTLs [Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations] that Congress did not intend. Furthermore, the proposed rules’ requirements that plans measure outcomes and vary reimbursement rates are without basis in law. The Tri-Agencies must faithfully reflect the law and congressional intent in any future rulemaking regarding mental health parity requirements.”
 
The letter concludes with the importance of a workable mental health parity rules: “Over the past year, 77 percent of large employers reported an increase in mental health needs in their workforce. However, the Biden-Harris administration’s heavy-handed regulatory actions will make it harder for plan sponsors and employers to offer mental health benefits to their employees… The Tri-Agencies must be mindful that the high costs and administrative burdens of complying with the proposed rules could result in employers and plan sponsors no longer offering these benefits.”
 
To read the full letter, click here. 
 

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