Virginia Foxx: “And I thank my good friend from California for yielding time. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 7780, the Mental Health Matters Act, is…”

“And I thank my good friend from California for yielding time. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 7780, the Mental Health Matters Act, is a package of bills our country would be better off without. For example, Title VI of the bill, the Strengthening Behavioral Health Benefits Act, contains dangerous policy which would threaten access to critical workplace benefits. How would this legislation drive employers to drop benefits? H.R. 7780 allows the Department of Labor, DOL, to levy civil monetary penalties against plans and employers for ambiguous mental health parity violations. Employers who offer mental health benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, do so voluntarily. They should not be penalized for violating standards that are unclear and vague. Republicans and Democrats alike support mental health parity, which is why Congress has passed multiple laws to ensure employers are able to meet mental health parity requirements. Yet, despite receiving explicit direction from Congress outlining what DOL must provide to plans, the Department has yet to issue guidance. Employers and plans have been asking the Department for years to comply with the law and provide examples which illustrate compliance and noncompliance, recommendations to advance compliance, and clarifying information on how plans may demonstrate compliance.…”