Government officials are asking for advice from the public about how to go about implementing the new Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
The Internal Revenue Service, the Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a joint "request for information" in the Federal Register.
The agencies will use the comments in future rulemaking, officials say in the notice.
The Act toughened existing parity standards and added a new definition of substance abuse disorder benefits.
Under the provisions of the Act, group plans that offer mental health benefits may not impose different limits on mental health benefits than they impose on other types of medical care. Deductibles, co-payments and other plan features may be no more restrictive for mental health care than for other types of care.
