In this final rule, CMS applies certain provisions of the MHPAEA to requirements for Medicaid managed care organizations, Medicaid alternative benefit plans, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The rule is designed to align as much as possible with the approach taken in the final MHPAEA regulation to create consistency between the commercial and Medicaid markets. This helps to prevent inequity between beneficiaries who have mental health or substance use disorder conditions in the commercial market (including the state and federal Marketplace) and Medicaid and CHIP, and helps to promote greater consistency for these beneficiaries.
The final rule requires that all beneficiaries who receive services through managed care organizations, alternative benefit plans, or CHIP be provided access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits that comply with parity standards, regardless of whether these services are provided through the managed care organization or another service delivery system. States are required to include contract provisions requiring compliance with parity standards in all applicable contracts for these Medicaid managed care arrangements that provide services to enrollees in managed care organizations, including prepaid inpatient health plans or prepaid ambulatory health plans.