Category:

Health Insurance

New Mental Health Parity Rules on the Horizon

On July 25, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (the agencies) proposed new rules placing heightened compliance standards on health insurers and plans regarding the use of Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations (NQTLs) for mental health and substance abuse disorder (MHSUD) services. These new rules amend the current reporting requirements with the intent to establish ongoing reporting that more clearly demonstrates whether MHSUD services are provided in compliance with the law.

Antitrust & The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2020

The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2020 (“CHIRA”) was signed into law on January 13, 2020, shifting not only how health insurance markets operate but lowering the bar for federal government agencies to bring successful actions against anticompetitive behavior. Prior to becoming law, health insurance companies retained robust antitrust exemptions under the McCarran-Ferguson Act (the “Act”). While it does not completely eliminate antitrust exemptions, the passage of CHIRA sent a strong signal that the federal government intended to promote competitive conduct in health insurance markets and limit the scope of these antitrust exemptions. While the upshot is that consumers may benefit from increased access and potentially lower cost, the health insurance industry must begin to adjust its conduct or face contentious litigation.

Proposed Public Charge Intended for Immigrants but will Impose on Health Care

Every time we turn on the news, someone is either talking about immigration reform or health care reform. Health care and immigration are two major areas that President Trump promised to address and is attempting to tackle within his first two years in office. Although most would not consider that these two issues would overlap, in today’s American health care system, Americans need immigrants. Immigrants contribute a great deal to our medical research, make up a large percentage of our health care providers, and subsidize health insurance premiums.

Insurance Plans and Opioids: Releasing and Raising the Barriers to Prescribe

With the opioid addiction epidemic continuing to rise in the United States, several insurance companies loosened the existing barriers to addiction treatment. Aetna Insurance Company joined Cigna and Anthem in removing key provisions in its insurance plans that require additional authorization prior to providing addiction treatment. At the same time, Cigna proposed to strengthen barriers to physician prescribing of opioids in an attempt to further address the opioid epidemic.