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Annette Bechtold Talks to Workforce About Developments in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Compliance

Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not seem to dominate headlines as it previously had, employers should continue to stay on top of any changes and new requirements.

One recent development is the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, requiring employers with 50 or more employees provide the same level of coverage for mental health treatment as it does for all other medical treatment in quantifiable areas of the plan. Annette Bechtold, senior vice president of regulatory affairs and reform initiatives at OneDigital, talks to Workforce about the expanded definition of the parity and challenges employers may face when implementing this obligation in the article “ACA Compliance Remains a Concern for Employers.”

An area of note is expanded requirements under mental health parity. The Department of Labor now challenges health plans to make sure there is parity in the non-quantifiable areas of the plan, including adequacy of the physician network. This isn’t simple for employers in certain areas of the country which have difficulty with the lack of desire of mental health professionals to join networks. This may become a significant compliance hurdle for employer health plans as employers try to figure out how to create equality within their health plan.
 
Annette Bechtold, SVP of Regulatory Affairs and Reform Initiatives, OneDigital Health and Benefits

Check out the full article here.

Stay on top of the latest in healthcare legislation and ACA updates to ensure your organization remains in compliance. For specific questions related to your company’s compliance requirements, reach out to your OneDigital consultant today.

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