Insurers and employers are pushing back on new rules that would toughen requirements for mental health parity.
In a joint statement, AHIP, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the ERISA Industry Committee and the Association of Behavioral Health and Wellness said the rule will have "severe unintended consequences."
The ERISA Industry Committee represents large employers. The Association of Behavioral Health and Wellness counts several insurers among its members.
The Biden administration finalized rules Sept. 9 that will ban health plans from using more restrictive prior authorization requirements for mental health than for other forms of care.
The rules will also require health plans to study their mental health networks, payment rates and prior authorization policies to ensure they are not more restrictive than for medical care.
Insurers and employers have argued the new regulations will increase costs without improving access.
"Instead of expanding the workforce or meaningfully improving access to mental health support, the final rule will complicate compliance so much that it will be impossible to operationalize, resulting in worse patient outcomes," the groups wrote.
The ERISA Industry Committee is considering "all possibilities," including litigation to challenge the new regulations, Politico reported Sept. 10.
"The rule goes far beyond Congress' clear intent … and, at a minimum, adds complexity to the landscape for employers who choose to offer behavioral health benefits for their workers," Melissa Bartlett, senior vice president of health policy for the ERISA Industry Committee, told the outlet.
The rule could be more vulnerable to a legal challenge because the Supreme Court has overturned Chevron deference, Politico reported. The struck-down precedent granted federal agencies more leeway to interpret legislation.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she would not comment on hypothetical legal challenges to the rules, Politico reported.