Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA), employers that provide benefits for mental health or addiction care must ensure that their plan limitations cannot exceed those on medical or surgical care plans. In short, there must be parity between limitations on mental and physical healthcare plans. Employers must also comply with the Department of Labor (DOL) regulations under the act.
Based on WTW’s 600 mental health parity reviews over the last 24 months, we have found th ere are critical measures employers can take to ensure compliance with mental health parity regulations.
We advise employers to take the following steps:
By taking these steps and periodically reviewing compliance with MHPAEA regulations, employers can comply with mental health parity regulations and ensure they are providing their employees with equitable mental health benefits. Such measures can be instrumental in supporting the psychological wellbeing of employees and illustrate a commitment to employee resilience that helps organizations build their employer brand, which can improve employee retention as well as attraction.
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