House Chair Calls on Biden Administration to Shelve Mental Health Parity Rules

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra, Treasury Secretary Yellen, and Labor Acting Secretary Su urging the Biden Administration not to finalize the proposed mental health parity regulations that are expected to be finalized in the next few weeks.

In the letter, Chair Foxx expresses strong support for mental health parity but says that the proposed rules “fail to align with congressional intent and will instead limit patients’ ability to access necessary mental health services.” She indicates that failures to comply with existing rules stem from the Administration’s failure to provide clear instructions and that, instead of providing clarity, the new regulations would only add new requirements that are not only burdensome but exceed the statutory authority under existing statute.

Finally, she expresses a commitment to working with the Administration to revise the proposed rules to ensure alignment with congressional intent and improve access to mental health care for patients.