Murphy, Smith, Luján Reintroduce Legislation Giving The U.S. Department Of Labor More Tools To Enforce Mental Health Parity Laws

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, along with U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) on Thursday reintroduced the Parity Enforcement Act, legislation to hold insurance companies accountable and give the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) the authority to assess civil monetary penalties for violations of mental health parity requirements. This new authority would incentivize compliance and strengthen the protections of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

"Despite the fact that insurance companies are required by law to cover mental health the same way they cover physical health, insurers continue to find new ways to dodge compliance and deny coverage of care so they can pad their profits. This is a simple bill to give the Department of Labor the power to enforce mental health parity laws and help ensure patients get the mental health care they need," said Murphy.

"We need to treat mental health with the same urgency we treat physical health, and that means making sure everyone has access to the care they need," said Smith. "By law, insurance companies are required to provide mental health care as they provide physical health care, yet they continue to find ways to dodge compliance and deny coverage. This bill gives the federal government the teeth they need to hold insurance companies accountable when they don't follow the law and bring us one step closer to ensuring that everyone has access to quality, affordable mental health care."

"Mental health treatment deserves the same seriousness that physical injury demands. The law demands it and yet far too many Americans go without mental health and behavioral health care because there is not parity for these essential services," said Luján. "Enforcing mental health parity laws is crucial to holding insurance providers accountable and ensuring compliance. I'm proud to join Senators Murphy and Smith in reintroducing this legislation to strengthen mental health parity enforcement, empower the Department of Labor to address violations, and expand access to life-saving treatments."

The bill is endorsed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association, Inseparable, and the Kennedy Forum.

"Ending discriminatory insurer practices is critical to increasing access to evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions. The American Society of Addiction Medicine fully supports the Parity Enforcement Act of 2024, which would provide much-needed enforcement of existing federal parity law and help more Americans access the comprehensive addiction care they need," said Dr. Brian Hurley, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

"Every American should have the ability to access high-quality and effective mental health and substance use disorder care," said Marketa M. Wills, M.D., M.B.A., CEO and Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). "APA applauds Senator Murphy's work to ensure access to care by empowering the Department of Labor to enforce mental health parity law and impose civil monetary penalties on health plans and insurers in violation."

"We commend Senator Chris Murphy for introducing the Parity Enforcement Act," said Laurel Stine, J.D., M.A., Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. "This much-needed bill will help prevent suicide by supporting enforcement of existing mental health parity laws, making mental health care and substance use treatment more affordable and accessible for all."

Full text of the bill is available HERE.

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