The Biden administration recently released its final Unified Agenda, a comprehensive list of regulations being developed by various federal departments, along with their anticipated release dates.
Key regulations to watch
Mental Health Parity
Aimed at enhancing access to mental health and substance-use disorder benefits by tightening compliance with mental health parity requirements. Employers and insurance carriers have raised concerns about the challenges in meeting these new definitions and tests. The final regulations are expected to be released in September 2024.
Surprise Billing Requirements
These regulations include formalizing the open negotiation period, specifying details required on negotiation notices, and revising the use of service codes for batched claims. The release of these final regulations has been delayed until November 2024, with regulations on air ambulance services pushed to March 2025.
Advanced Explanation of Benefits
Federal agencies issued guidance in 2021 allowing self-insured plans and insurance carriers to send explanations of benefits (EOBs) without penalty until formal regulations on advanced EOBs are in place. After seeking input from stakeholders two years ago, proposed regulations are now expected in March 2025.
HIPAA Privacy and Cybersecurity
For the first time, federal departments are working on HIPAA regulations specifically aimed at enhancing cybersecurity measures for medical providers, health plans, and third parties that manage personal health information. The proposed regulations are scheduled for release in December 2024.