Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
Interim final amendment to regulation.
This document contains an interim final amendment to modify the sunset date of interim final regulations under the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) to be consistent with legislation passed during the 108th Congress.
Lisa Campbell, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor, at (202) 693–8335.
Customer Service Information: Individuals interested in obtaining additional information on the Mental Health Parity Act and other health care laws may request copies of Department of Labor publications concerning changes in health care law by calling the EBSA Toll-Free Hotline at 1–866–444–EBSA (3272), or access the publications on-line at
The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (MHPA) was enacted on September 26, 1996 (Pub. L. 104–204, 110 Stat. 2944). MHPA amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) to provide for parity in the application of annual and lifetime dollar limits on mental health benefits with dollar limits on medical/surgical benefits. Provisions implementing MHPA were later added to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105–34, 111 Stat. 1080).
The provisions of MHPA, as originally enacted, are set forth in Part 7 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA, Chapter 100 of Subtitle K of the Code, and Title XXVII of the PHS Act.
The MHPA provisions set forth in section 712 of ERISA apply to a group health plan (or health insurance coverage offered by issuers in connection with a group health plan) that provides both medical/surgical benefits and mental health benefits. MHPA's original text included a sunset provision specifying that MHPA's provisions applied to benefits for services furnished before September 30, 2001. On December 22, 1997, the Departments of Labor, the Treasury, and Health and Human Services issued interim final regulations under MHPA in the
On January 10, 2002, President Bush signed H.R. 3061 (Pub. L. 107–116, 115 Stat. 2177), the 2002 Appropriations Act for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
On March 9, 2002, President Bush signed H.R. 3090, the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–147, 116 Stat. 21), that included an amendment to section 9812 of the Code (the mental health parity provisions). This legislation further extended MHPA's original sunset date under the Code to December 31, 2003.
On September 27, 2002, the Department of Labor issued an interim final amendment for mental health parity in the
On December 2, 2002, President Bush signed H.R. 5716, the Mental Health Parity Reauthorization Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–313, 116 Stat. 2457), an amendment to section 712 of ERISA and Section 2705 of the PHS Act. This legislation further extended MHPA's original sunset date under ERISA and the PHS Act to December 31, 2003. On April 14, 2003, the Department of Labor issued an interim final amendment for mental health parity in the
On December 19, 2003, President Bush signed S. 1929, the Mental Health Parity Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108–197, 117 Stat. 2998), an amendment to section 712 of ERISA and Section 2705 of the PHS Act. This legislation further extends MHPA's original sunset date under ERISA and the PHS Act to December 31, 2004. Like MHPA, this amendment to MHPA applies to a group health plan (or health insurance coverage offered by issuers in connection with a group health plan) that provides both medical/surgical benefits and mental health benefits.
Since the extension of this sunset date is not discretionary, this amendment to the MHPA regulations is promulgated on an interim final basis pursuant to Section 734 of ERISA. This interim final amendment is also promulgated pursuant to Section 553(d)(3) of the Administrative Procedure Act, allowing for regulations to become effective immediately for good cause.
Under Executive Order 12866, the Department must determine whether a regulatory action is “significant” and therefore subject to the requirements of the Executive Order and subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under section 3(f), the order defines a “significant regulatory action” as an action that is likely to result in a rule: (1) having an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, or adversely and materially affecting a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local or tribal governments or communities (also referred to as “economically significant”); (2) creating serious inconsistency or otherwise interfering with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially altering the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raising novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive Order.
Pursuant to the terms of the Executive Order, it has been determined that this action is not a “significant regulatory action” within the meaning of the Executive Order. This action is an amendment to the interim final regulations and merely extends the regulatory sunset date to conform to the new statutory sunset date added by S. 1929.
The information collection provisions of MHPA incorporated in the Department's interim final rules are currently approved under OMB control numbers 1210–0105 (Notice to Participants and Beneficiaries and Federal Government of Electing One Percent Increased Cost Exemption), and 1210–0106 (Calculation and Disclosure of Documentation of Eligibility for Exemption). These information collection requests are approved through November 30, 2004 and October 31, 2004, respectively. Because no substantive or material change is made to the approved information collection provisions in connection with this interim final amendment, no submission for continuing OMB approval is required or made at this time.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601
For purposes of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4) (UMRA), as well as Executive Order 12875, this interim final amendment does not include any federal mandate that may result in expenditures by state, local, or tribal governments, and does not include mandates that may impose an annual expenditure of $100 million or more on the private sector.
This interim final amendment is subject to the Congressional Review Act provisions of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801
Executive Order 13132 (August 4, 1999) outlines fundamental principles of federalism and requires the adherence to specific criteria by federal agencies in the process of their formulation and implementation of policies that have substantial direct effects on the states, the relationship between the states, the relationship between the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. This interim final amendment does not have federalism implications as it only conforms the regulatory sunset date to the new statutory sunset date added by S. 1929.
Employee benefit plans, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Health care, Health insurance, Medical child support, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
29 U.S.C. 1027, 1059, 1135, 1169, 1181–1183, 1181 note, 1185, 1185a, 1185b, 1191, 1191a, 1191b, and 1191c, sec. 101(g), Pub. L. 104–191, 101 Stat. 1936; sec. 401(b), Pub. L. 105–200, 112 Stat. 645 (42 U.S.C. 651 note); Secretary of Labor's Order 1–2003, 68 FR 5374 (Feb. 3, 2003).