Mental Health Parity Crackdown Included in Biden Budget (1)

Federal regulators would get the power to levy fines against insurers that violate mental health parity rules and states would get an injection of $125 million to enforce parity laws under President Joe Biden’s proposed fiscal 2023 budget.

Biden has promised to build on consumer protections meant to ensure that people with insurance can get access to mental health care with the same kind of coverage they have for physical care.

“The president gave us a charge: let’s stop treating mental health as a stepchild in the health-care sector,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters Monday.

The ...