Federal Enforcement in Group and Individual Health Insurance Markets

This rule makes final an interim final rule that details procedures we use for enforcing title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act as added by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and as amended by the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act of 1996, and the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998. Specifically, we are responsible for enforcing title XXVII requirements in States that do not enact the legislation necessary to enforce those requirements, or otherwise fail to substantially enforce the requirements. We are also responsible for taking enforcement actions against non-Federal governmental plans. The regulation describes the process we use in both enforcement contexts. This final rule deletes an appendix to the interim rule that listed examples of violations of title XXVII and corrects the description of a cross-reference, but makes no substantive changes to the interim final rule.