ERISA Industry Committee urges Colorado to reconsider new mental health parity rules

Abstract

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) last week submitted public comments on proposed regulations from the Colorado Division of Insurance aimed at administering parity for mental health and substance use disorder benefits, according to a Nov. 20 news release. ERIC's public comments strongly urge Colorado regulators to reconsider the proposed rules, cautioning that if the state rules conflict with future changes to federal law, it could lead to future compliance conflicts and undermine how employers administer benefit plans. Because underlying Colorado law adopts relevant federal regulations in this space, further state codification is unnecessary and could only lead to complications down the road. ERIC has been a leader in shaping federal mental health and substance use disorder benefit parity policy for many years, dating back to the enactment of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, the news release indicated. When the federal rule was issued in September, ERIC expressed concerns that the rule is unworkable for employers who choose to offer behavioral health benefits for their workers. ERIC is a national advocacy organization exclusively representing the largest employers in the United States in their capacity as sponsors of employee benefit plans for their nationwide workforces.