Health Plans & Benefits
Subtopics
- Child Care Assistance
- Compliance Assistance
- Consumer Information on Health Plans
- Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA)
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
- Fiduciary Responsibilities
- Health Benefits Education
- Mental Health Benefits
- Newborns' & Mothers' Protections (Newborns' Act)
- Participant Rights
- Plan Information
- Portability of Health Coverage (HIPAA)
- Womens' Health & Cancer Rights Protections
Mental Health Benefits
The Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) provides for parity in the application of aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits on mental health benefits with dollar limits on medical/surgical benefits. A plan that does not impose an annual or lifetime dollar limit on medical and surgical benefits may not impose such a dollar limit on mental health benefits offered under the plan. MHPA does not apply to benefits for substance abuse or chemical dependency. Health plans are not required to include mental health benefits in their benefits package. MHPA only applies to those plans that do offer mental health benefits.
DOL Web Pages on This Topic
Consumer Information on
Health Plans
Provides fact sheets, booklets, and other health plan
information from the Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA).
Compliance
Assistance
Provides publications and other materials to assist employers
and employee benefit plan practitioners in understanding and complying with the
requirements of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for the
administration of pension and health plans.
Questions and Answers:
Mental Health Parity Act
Provides answers to commonly asked questions
about the Mental Health Parity Act.
Fact Sheet: Mental Health
Parity Act
Provides a brief overview of the Mental Health Parity
Act.
Compliance Assistance for
Group Health Plans: HIPAA and Other Recent Health Care Laws
Provides 10
key compliance considerations for group health plans.
Health Coverage
Portability
Provides information about major provisions of the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Newborns' and Mothers'
Health Protection Act, the Mental Health Parity Act, and the Women's Health and
Cancer Rights Act.