This bill mandates the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) to enhance its oversight of mental health parity by monitoring carriers and submitting annual reports that evaluate various aspects of compliance. The report will analyze data related to prior authorizations and denials, reviews of non-quantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs), the frequency and duration of residential behavioral treatment, and enforcement actions taken by state or federal authorities. Additionally, the report will cover compliance and violations of mental health parity laws by individual and group contracts, as well as the state's response to complaints regarding these violations. The department is also required to maintain a publicly available consumer complaint log concerning mental health and substance use disorder coverage.

The bill introduces new legal language that specifies the types of data to be included in the annual reports and emphasizes that these monitoring requirements are supplementary to any existing federal regulations. The DOBI is tasked with ensuring compliance with the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, and the findings from the annual reports will be made accessible to the public via the department's website. The act will take effect four months after its enactment, allowing the Commissioner to take necessary administrative actions in the interim.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 26:2S-10.8