WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 22, 2020 – The American Psychiatric Association (APA) today lauded Congress for passing the Strengthening Behavioral Health Parity Act (H.R. 7539) and including several key mental health and substance use-related programs in its combined $1.4 trillion year-end appropriations and COVID-relief funding package.
H.R. 7539 gives the Department of Labor new powers to regulate and audit health plans to determine if they are in compliance with the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. The new legislation was introduced by Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-MA), Katie Porter (D-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Fred Upton (R-MI), as part of the overall year-end funding package, and was the product of negotiations between the House and Senate related to the bipartisan Mental Health Parity Compliance Act,...
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