Legislative Alert: 2024 Mental Health Parity Rule Rescinded

May 20, 2025

A week ago, the Trump Administration announced its intention to stop the passage of the 2024 Mental Health Parity Rule that would have made the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Parity Act (MHPAEA) enforcement much stronger. As most CSWA members are aware, the implementation of this 16-year-old law has been a challenge [laws are the beginning of the legislative process which are implemented by rules]. The constant problems LCSWs have dealing with prior authorizations, network adequacy, reimbursement rates, timely reimbursement of claims, and more would have been largely resolved in the 2024 rule proposed by the Biden Administration. (View the proposed rule at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/23/2024-20612/requirements-related-to-the-mental-health-parity-and-addiction-equity-act.)

Also about a week ago, the Trump Administration stopped putting new rules out for public comment, making it difficult for CSWA and other organizations to have a voice in the development of new rules. This is a major attack on the democratic process which allows the public to have a voice in the implementation of our laws.

One way we CAN affect rules is by contacting our members of Congress to ask that they informally influence the administration and agencies that carry out the proposed rule. An excellent summary of the dangers of eliminating the proposed rule can be found at KFF by visiting https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/trump-biden-mental-health-parity-insurance-law-coverage-deadline/. These helpful materials can be used to develop a bill in Congress to implement this rule. Even though the current administration has announced that they are unwilling to implement any of the 2024 proposed rule, we can let our members of Congress know that we as constituents want them to push back on this attempt to allow insurers to continue practices that hurt LCSWs and our patients.

Here is a template for that you can use to send a message to your members of Congress at https://www.congress.gov/contact-us: “I am a licensed clinical social worker, a constituent, and a member of the Clinical Social Work Association. I am writing to ask you to oppose the intent of the Trump Administration to stop the 2024 Rule for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Parity Act. For 16 years this Act has languished because passing meaningful rules has been opposed by insurers and the corporations that have become the groups that control our health care system. Please give our citizens the access to the mental health and addiction services they need by pushing for the passage of the 2024 MHPAEA Rule.”

As always, please let me know when you have sent your messages.

Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director of Policy and Practice

lwgroshong@clinicalsocialworkassociation.org

Affiliated society members: If you are receiving this communication from your state society but did not also receive it directly from CSWA then you are not an active CSWA member. Membership in a state society does not equate to membership in CSWA. Membership in both organizations is highly recommended. Please consider joining CSWA today - your support is instrumental in maintaining CSWA's ability to work nationally on your behalf and on behalf of the field of clinical social work. Please visit our membership information and registration page for additional information.

Clinical Social Work Association
The National Voice for Clinical Social Work