The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires health plans to provide equal levels of coverage for mental health conditions and substance use disorders (SUD) as for physical illnesses. Understanding and complying with mental health parity requirements, however, has become increasingly challenging for health plans, as the nation faces both an exploding opioid crisis and a COVID-driven spike in mental health issues.

In a new webinar, Manatt provides a guide to help health plans effectively navigate the complexities of mental health parity.  The program explores mental health parity from three interlocking perspectives—litigation, regulatory and legislative—to provide a multifaceted look at its impact on health plans and the patients they serve. Key topics will include:

• Federal and state regulatory efforts to enforce MHPAEA and California’s SB 855, which requires all health insurers to cover treatment for SUDs and prohibits excluding any mental health conditions from coverage 
• Major parity litigation around the country—including, of course, Wit v. UBH
• Significant new proposed legislation, such as the federal Mental Health Matters Act
• Lessons learned from parity enforcement and compliance to date

Speakers:

Jean Kim, Special Counsel, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Joseph Laska, Partner, Manatt Health
Harvey Rochman, Partner, Manatt Health

Date and Time:

Thursday, October 27

CLE:

This program has been approved for 1.0 NY CLE Skills (transitional and non-transitional) and for 1.0 CA MCLE General credit.

If you would like to receive an audio transcript of this webinar due to accessibility issues, please email us at webinars@manatt.com.

This program does not constitute legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship. Views expressed by presenters are strictly their own and should not be construed to be the views of Manatt or attributed to Manatt.