Addiction

Final Parity Rule Fulfills Major NABH Requests NABH is pleased the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL) and Treasury Departments addressed our major concerns in the final parity rule the three federal agencies released Sept. 9. The long-awaited regulation implements more stringent compliance protocols and related definitions (noted below) with the goal to implement and enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act more fully and fairly almost 16 years after it was enacted into law in October 2008. NABH and our partners will continue to examine…

Biden Administration’s Final Parity Rule a Win for Patients & Providers The Biden administration today released its long-awaited parity final rule, which establishes more stringent protocols, amends existing provisions, and adds new ones to implement the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) that President George W. Bush signed into law 16 years ago next month. After a preliminary review, the NABH team sees the final rule as a positive move in the right direction in its efforts to ensure that individuals in group health plans or group or…

CMS Finalizes 2.5% IPF Payment Increase and Payment System Reforms Payment Update The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) FY 2025 final rule on the inpatient psychiatric facility prospective payment system (IPF PPS) implements a net increase of 2.5 percentage points. The overall update of $65 million, compared to FY 2024 payment levels, represents a slight decrease from the proposed 2.6 percentage point increase. This update includes a market basket increase of 3.3 percentage points that is offset by a 0.5 percentage point for productivity. In addition, to maintain the…