The Biden administration’s mental health parity rule proposals have sparked concern in the health-care industry due to a new test that could potentially eliminate common cost-control techniques for employee health plans. Under the proposal, a “substantially all” test mandates that non-quantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) must be applied equally to mental health benefits as they are to medical and surgical benefits under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
This means that any restrictions or requirements imposed on mental health benefits must be similar to those imposed on medical and surgical benefits. According to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury, NQTLs can include requirements like prior authorization for care. However, this new test could restrict the ability of health-care providers to control costs for employee health plans, as they may no longer be able to implement certain cost-cutting measures that are commonly used.
The impact of this change could be significant, particularly on how mental health services are provided and accessed within employee health plans. While the proposals are not yet finalized, many in the health-care industry are closely watching the developments and preparing for potential changes to how mental health benefits are managed within employee health plans.
