The Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury recently announced that the 2024 final rule on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MPHAEA) will not be enforced, following a legal challenge by the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC).
The 2024 rule expanded upon 2013 regulations by introducing new requirements for nonquantitative treatment limitation analyses, designed to strengthen parity between mental health and medical or surgical benefits. In January 2025, ERIC filed a suit arguing the new rule is arbitrary and unlawful.
In response, the departments asked the courts to pause enforcement and indicated they may revisit the rule through future rulemaking. Citing executive order 14219, which directs agencies to reduce regulatory burdens, the departments confirmed they will not enforce the 2024 provisions for violations occurring before a final court decision and for 18 months thereafter.
The enforcement pause applies only to the new provisions introduced in the 2024 rule. The 2013 final rule and the underlying Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act statute, including amendments from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, remain in effect.
The Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging states, which are the primary enforcers of parity requirements for health insurance issuers, to adopt a similar approach. States that pause enforcement of the 2024 provisions but continue enforcing the 2013 rule and statute will not be considered out of compliance by HHS.
Members with questions may contact Lenise Freeman at the MHA.