5452 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 54 

[REG–120692–09] 

RIN 1545–BI70 

Regulations Under the Paul Wellstone 

and Pete Domenici Mental Health 

Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

by cross-reference to temporary 

regulations and withdrawal of notice of 

proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register, the IRS is issuing 

temporary regulations under the Paul 

Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental 

Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act 

of 2008 (MHPAEA). MHPAEA prohibits 

group health plans providing mental 

health or substance use disorder 

benefits along with medical/surgical 

benefits from imposing more restrictive 

financial requirements or treatment 

limitations with respect to the mental 

health or substance use disorder 

benefits than the predominant ones 

imposed with respect to substantially all 

medical/surgical benefits. The IRS is 

issuing the temporary regulations at the 

same time that the Employee Benefits 

Security Administration of the U.S. 

Department of Labor and the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services of the 

U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services are issuing substantially 

similar interim final regulations with 

respect to MHPAEA for group health 

plans and issuers of health insurance 

coverage offered in connection with a 

group health plan under the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

and the Public Health Service Act. The 

temporary regulations provide guidance 

to employers and group health plans 

relating to the group health plan mental 

health and substance use disorder parity 

requirements. The text of those 

temporary regulations also serves as the 

text of these proposed regulations. This 

document also withdraws the notice of 

proposed rulemaking relating to mental 

health parity requirements for group 

health plans that was published on 

December 22, 1997 (REG–109704–97, 62 

FR 66967). 

DATES: Written or electronic comments 

and requests for a public hearing must 

be received by May 3, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send submissions to: 

CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–120692–09), room 

5205, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. 

Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, 

Washington, DC 20044. Submissions 

may be hand-delivered to: 

CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–120692–09), 

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue 

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20224. 

Alternatively, taxpayers may submit 

comments electronically via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov (IRS REG–120692– 

09). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Concerning the regulations, Russ 

Weinheimer at 202–622–6080; 

concerning submissions of comments, 

Richard.A.Hurst@irscounsel.treas.gov, 

202–622–7180 (not toll-free numbers). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The collections of information 

contained in this notice of proposed 

rulemaking have been submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget for 

review in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3507(d)). Comments on the 

collections of information should be 

sent to the Office of Management and 

Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for the 

Department of the Treasury, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Washington, DC 20503, with copies to 

the Internal Revenue Service, Attn: IRS 

Reports Clearance Officer, 

SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, Washington, DC 

20224. Comments on the collections of 

information should be received by April 

5, 2010. Comments are specifically 

requested concerning: 

• Whether the proposed collections of 

information are necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Internal Revenue Service, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

• The accuracy of the estimated 

burdens associated with the proposed 

collections of information (see the 

preamble to the temporary regulations 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register); 

• How to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; 

• How to minimize the burden of 

complying with the proposed 

collections of information, including the 

application of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology; and 

• Estimates of capital or start-up costs 

and costs of operation, maintenance, 

and purchase of services to provide 

information. 

The collections of information are in 

§ 54.9812–1 (see the temporary 

regulations published elsewhere in this 

issue of the Federal Register). MHPAEA 

includes two new disclosure provisions. 

First, the criteria for medical necessity 

determinations made under a group 

health plan with respect to mental 

health or substance use disorder 

benefits must be made available in 

accordance with regulations by the plan 

administrator to any current or potential 

participant, beneficiary, or contracting 

provider upon request. MHPAEA also 

requires the reason for any denial under 

a group health plan of reimbursement or 

payment for services with respect to 

mental health or substance use disorder 

benefits in the case of any participant or 

beneficiary must be made available 

upon request or as otherwise required 

by the plan administrator to the 

participant or beneficiary in accordance 

with regulations. The likely respondents 

are business or other for-profit 

institutions, and nonprofit institutions. 

Responses to these collections of 

information are mandatory. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a valid control 

number assigned by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

Books or records relating to a 

collection of information must be 

retained as long as their contents may 

become material in the administration 

of any internal revenue law. Generally 

tax returns and tax return information 

are confidential, as required by 26 

U.S.C. 6103. 

Background 

The temporary regulations published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register revise § 54.9812–1T to the 

Miscellaneous Excise Tax Regulations. 

The proposed and temporary 

regulations are being published as part 

of a joint rulemaking with the 

Department of Labor and the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (the joint rulemaking). The text 

of those temporary regulations also 

serves as the text of these proposed 

regulations. The preamble to the 

temporary regulations explains the 

temporary regulations. 

Special Analyses 

It has been determined that this notice 

of proposed rulemaking is not a 

significant regulatory action as defined 

in Executive Order 12866. Therefore, a 

regulatory assessment is not required. It 

has also been determined that section 

553(b) of the Administrative Procedure 

Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply 

to this proposed regulation. It is hereby 

certified that the collections of 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2010 / Proposed Rules 5453 

information contained in this notice of 

proposed rulemaking will not have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Accordingly, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis is not 

required. 

The proposed rule generally applies 

to employers who provide health 

coverage through group health plans to 

employees that include benefits for 

mental health or substance use disorder 

conditions. The IRS expects that the 

rules to reduce the compliance burden 

imposed on plans and issurers by 

clarifying definitions and terms 

contained in the statute and providing 

examples of acceptable methods to 

comply with specific provisions. 

MHPAEA and the regulations under it 

do not apply to employers with 50 or 

fewer employees. Moreover, small 

employers subject to the rule that have 

more than 50 employees will generally 

provide any health coverage through 

insurance or a third-party administrator. 

The issuers of insurance or other thirdparty administrators of the health plans, 

rather than the small employers, will as 

a practical matter, satisfy the 

requirements of the rules in order to 

provide a marketable product. For this 

reason, the burden imposed by the 

reporting requirement of the statute and 

this notice of proposed rulemaking on 

small entities is expected to be near 

zero. For further information and for 

analyses relating to the joint 

rulemaking, see the preamble to the 

joint rulemaking. Pursuant to section 

7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, 

this regulation has been submitted to 

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration for 

comment on its impact on small 

business. 

Comments and Requests for a Public 

Hearing 

Before these proposed regulations are 

adopted as final regulations, 

consideration will be given to any 

written comments (a signed original and 

eight (8) copies) or electronic comments 

that are submitted timely to the IRS. 

Comments are specifically requested on 

the clarity of the proposed regulations 

and how they may be made easier to 

understand. All comments will be 

available for public inspection and 

copying. A public hearing may be 

scheduled if requested in writing by a 

person that timely submits written 

comments. If a public hearing is 

scheduled, notice of the date, time, and 

place for the hearing will be published 

in the Federal Register. 

Drafting Information 

The principal author of these 

proposed regulations is Russ 

Weinheimer, Office of the Division 

Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Tax 

Exempt and Government Entities), IRS. 

The proposed regulations, as well as the 

temporary regulations, have been 

developed in coordination with 

personnel from the U.S. Department of 

Labor and the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services. 

List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 54 

Excise taxes, Health care, Health 

insurance, Pensions, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Withdrawal of Proposed Regulations 

Accordingly, under the authority of 

26 U.S.C. 7805, the notice of proposed 

rulemaking (REG–109704–97) that was 

published in the Federal Register on 

Monday, December 22, 1997 (62 FR 

66967) is withdrawn. 

Proposed Amendments to the 

Regulations 

Accordingly, 26 CFR part 54 is 

proposed to be amended as follows: 

PART 54—PENSION EXCISE TAXES 

Paragraph 1. The authority citation 

for part 54 is amended by adding an 

entry in numerical order to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805. * * * 

Section 54.9812–1 also issued under 26 

U.S.C. 9833. * * * 

Par. 2. Section 54.9812–1 is added to 

read as follows: 

§ 54.9812–1 Parity in mental health and 

substance use disorder benefits. 

[The text of proposed § 54.9812–1 is 

the same as the text of § 54.9812–1T 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register]. 

Steven T. Miller, 

Deputy Commissioner for Services and 

Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2166 Filed 1–29–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2