Parity Comment Period Closes; Feds Considering Concerns Related to Management & Plan Design

OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire Hot News On May 3, 2010, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) closed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPEAE) Interim Final Rule (IFR) comment period. Health plans, behavioral health care provider organizations, and other stakeholders in the behavioral health and social service industry submitted their analyses of the law and the IFR. Some of the key issues included the following: Comparability among levels of care as a factor in determining parity of access Utilization review as a method of evaluating appropriateness and quality of care Requests for . . .