Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act; Extension of Comment Period, 66728-66730 [2023-21177]

Download as PDF 66728 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Proposed Rules (b) Within 10 working days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after a request for records is logged by the Records Access Officer, the record shall be furnished or a letter shall be sent to the person making the request determining whether, or the extent to which, the Commission will comply with the request, and, if any records are denied, the reasons therefor. * * * * * (c) If any record is denied, the letter shall state the right of the person requesting such records to appeal any adverse determination to the Executive Director of the Commission. Such an appeal shall be filed within 30 days from receipt of the Records Access Officer’s determination denying the requested information (where the entire request has been denied), or from the receipt of any information made available pursuant to the request (where the request has been denied in part). Within 20 working days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after receipt of any appeal, or any authorized extension, the Executive Director or the Executive Director’s designee shall make a determination and notify the appellant of such determination. If the appeal is decided in favor of the appellant the requested information shall be promptly supplied as provided in this part. If on appeal the denial of the request for records is upheld in whole or in part, the appellant shall be entitled to appeal to the Commission at its regular meeting. In the event that the Commission confirms the Executive Director’s denial the appellant shall be notified of the provisions for judicial review. * * * * * ■ 17. In § 401.110, revise paragraphs (a)(1)(i)(A) and (c) to read as follows: § 401.110 promote the objectives of the Commission, and is consistent with the rights of individuals to privacy, the property rights of persons in trade secrets, and the need for the Commission to promote frank internal policy deliberations and to pursue its regulatory activities without disruption. (b) Discretionary disclosure of a record pursuant to this section shall invoke the requirement that the record shall be disclosed to any person who requests it pursuant to § 401.108, but shall not set a precedent for discretionary disclosure of any similar or related record and shall not obligate the Executive Director to disclose any other record that is exempt from disclosure. Subpart I—General Provisions § 401.121 Definitions. * * * * * (e) Material change shall mean a change to a project previously approved by the Commission that is important in determining whether the project would substantially impair or conflict with the Commission’s comprehensive plan. * * * * * Dated: September 21, 2023. Pamela M. Bush, Commission Secretary/Assistant General Counsel. [FR Doc. 2023–21117 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6360–01–P Fees. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1 § 401.115 Discretionary disclosure by the Executive Director. (a) The Executive Director may exercise discretion to disclose part or all of any Commission record that is otherwise exempt from disclosure pursuant to this part whenever the Executive Director determines that such disclosure is in the public interest, will 17:14 Sep 27, 2023 Jkt 259001 Internal Revenue Service 26 CFR Part 54 [REG–120727–21] RIN 1545–BQ29 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employee Benefits Security Administration 29 CFR Part 2590 RIN 1210–AC11 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 45 CFR Parts 146 and 147 [CMS–9902–P] 19. In § 401.121, redesignate paragraph (e) as paragraph (f) and add new paragraph (e) to read as follows: ■ (a) * * * (1) * * * (i) * * * (A) Processing requests for records; * * * * * (c) Payment shall be made by check or money order payable to ‘‘Delaware River Basin Commission’’ and shall be sent to the Records Access Officer. ■ 18. Revise § 401.115 to read as follows: VerDate Sep<11>2014 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 RIN 0938–AU93 Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act; Extension of Comment Period Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Proposed rules; extension of comment period. AGENCY: This document extends the comment period for the proposed rules entitled ‘‘Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act’’ that were published in the August 3, 2023, issue of the Federal Register. The comment period for the proposed rules, which had been scheduled to close on October 2, 2023, is extended 15 days to October 17, 2023. DATES: The comment period for the proposed rules published August 3, 2023, at 88 FR 51552, is extended. To be assured consideration, comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below, no later than October 17, 2023. ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to the addresses specified below. Any comment that is submitted will be shared with the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Please do not submit duplicates. Comments will be made available to the public. Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable information SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\28SEP1.SGM 28SEP1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Proposed Rules (such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All comments are posted on the internet exactly as received and can be retrieved by most internet search engines. No deletions, modifications, or redactions will be made to the comments received, as they are public records. Comments may be submitted anonymously. In commenting, please refer to file code 1210–AC11. Because of staff and resource limitations, the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot accept comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission. Comments, including mass comment submissions, must be submitted in one of the following two ways (please choose only one of the ways listed): 1. Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this regulation to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the ‘‘Submit a comment’’ instructions. 2. By mail. You may mail written comments to the following address ONLY: Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Room N–5653, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: 1210–AC11. Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the close of the comment period. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shira McKinlay, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, at 202–317–5500; Beth Baum or David Sydlik, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor, at 202–693–8335; David Mlawsky, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, at 410–786–6851. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1 Customer Service Information Individuals interested in obtaining information from DOL concerning private employment-based health coverage laws may call the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Toll-Free Hotline at 1–866–444– EBSA (3272) or visit the DOL’s website (www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa). In addition, information from HHS on private health insurance coverage and coverage provided by self-funded, nonFederal governmental group health plans can be found on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website (www.cms.gov/cciio), and information on health care reform can be found at www.Healthcare.gov or https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/ index.html. In addition, information about mental and behavioral health and addiction is available at https:// VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:14 Sep 27, 2023 Jkt 259001 www.samhsa.gov/mental-health and https://www.samhsa.gov/find-support. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the proposed rules, ‘‘Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act,’’ released by the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and HHS (collectively, the Departments) on July 25, 2023, and published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2023 (88 FR 51552), the Departments solicited public comments on proposals to amend the regulations that implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and establish new regulations for the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses required under MHPAEA, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The proposed rules would amend the existing NQTL standard to prevent group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health or substance use disorder benefits from using NQTLs to place greater limits on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical/surgical benefits. As part of these proposed changes, the proposed rules would require plans and issuers to collect and evaluate relevant data in a manner reasonably designed to assess the impact of NQTLs on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits, and propose a special rule for NQTLs related to network composition. The proposed rules also would amend existing examples and add new examples on the application of the rules for NQTLs to clarify and illustrate the protections of MHPAEA. In addition, the proposed rules would set forth the content requirements for NQTL comparative analyses and specify how plans and issuers must make these comparative analyses available to the Departments, as well as to an applicable State authority, and participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. The Departments also solicited comments on whether there are ways to improve the coverage of mental health and substance use disorder benefits through other provisions of Federal law. Additionally, HHS proposed amendments to implement the sunset provision for selffunded, non-Federal governmental plan elections to opt out of compliance with MHPAEA, as adopted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The comment period for the proposed rules was scheduled to close on October 2, 2023. PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 66729 Additionally, on July 25, 2023, DOL, in collaboration with HHS and the Treasury Department, issued Technical Release 2023–01P.1 The Technical Release sets out principles and seeks public comment to inform future guidance with respect to the application of the proposed data collection and evaluation requirements to NQTLs related to network composition and a potential time-limited enforcement safe harbor for plans and issuers that include data in their comparative analyses that demonstrates they meet or exceed all of the thresholds identified in future guidance with respect to NQTLs related to network composition. Specifically, the Technical Release solicits feedback on the type, form, and manner for the data that plans and issuers would be required to include, along with other relevant data as appropriate, as part of their comparative analyses for NQTLs related to network composition which must be submitted to the Departments upon request. The Technical Release also solicits feedback on how to define certain thresholds for required data and a potential time-limited enforcement safe harbor to be specified in future guidance that, if satisfied, would demonstrate to the Departments that a plan or coverage provides comparable access to in-network providers for mental health and substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical/surgical benefits. In turn, if all of these safe harbor thresholds are met or exceeded, the plan or issuer would not be subject to Federal enforcement under MHPAEA with respect to NQTLs related to network composition for a specified period of time. Comments on Technical Release 2023–01P should be sent via email to mhpaea.rfc.ebsa@ dol.gov. All comments on Technical Release 2023–01P submitted to DOL will be shared with HHS, the IRS, and the Treasury Department and posted on DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s (EBSA) website. The comment period for Technical Release 2023–01P was scheduled to close on October 2, 2023. Since the publication of the proposed rules in the Federal Register and the release of Technical Release 2023–01P on EBSA’s website, there has been considerable interest expressed in these 1 Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Technical Release 2023– 01P: Request for Comment on Proposed Relevant Data Requirements for Nonquantitative Treatment Limitations (NQTLs) Related to Network Composition and Enforcement Safe Harbor for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Subject to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (July 25, 2023), available at https:// www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-andadvisers/guidance/technical-releases/23-01. E:\FR\FM\28SEP1.SGM 28SEP1 66730 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Proposed Rules documents, and some interested parties have requested additional time to review and submit comments. The Departments value public feedback as they consider whether and how to issue final rules and future guidance. In response to these requests, the Departments are extending the period for submitting comments on the proposed rules to October 17, 2023. Additionally, to ensure consistency with the comment period for the proposed rules, DOL is simultaneously extending the comment period for Technical Release 2023–01P to October 17, 2023. To be assured consideration, comments on the proposed rules and Technical Release must be received no later than October 17, 2023. Dated: September 22, 2023. Douglas W. O’Donnell, Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service. Lisa M. Gomez, Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits, Security Administration, Department of Labor. Xavier Becerra, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. [FR Doc. 2023–21177 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 31 CFR Part 1010 RIN 1506–AB62 Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Deadline Extension for Reporting Companies Created or Registered in 2024 Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury. ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). AGENCY: FinCEN is proposing to amend the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule (Reporting Rule) to extend the filing deadline for certain BOI reports. Under the Reporting Rule, entities created or registered on or after the rule’s effective date of January 1, 2024, must file initial BOI reports with FinCEN within 30 days of notice of their creation or registration. This proposed amendment would extend that filing deadline from 30 days to 90 days for entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, to give those entities additional time to understand the new reporting obligation and collect ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1 SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:14 Sep 27, 2023 Jkt 259001 the necessary information to complete the filing. Entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2025, would have 30 days to file their BOI reports with FinCEN, as required under the Reporting Rule. DATES: Written comments on this proposed rule may be submitted on or before October 30, 2023. ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: • Federal E-rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN–2023– 0014 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1506– 0076. • Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN–2023–0014 and OMB control number 1506–0076. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Regulatory Support Section at 1–800–767–2825 or electronically at frc@fincen.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction In this NPRM, FinCEN is proposing to amend the Reporting Rule 1 to extend the deadline to file initial BOI reports for entities created or registered on or after the rule’s effective date of January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025. Under the Reporting Rule, such entities must file initial BOI reports with FinCEN within 30 days of notice of their creation or registration. The proposed amendment would extend that filing deadline from 30 days to 90 days for entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, to give those entities additional time to understand the new reporting obligation and collect the necessary information to complete their filings. Entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2025, would have 30 days to file their BOI reports with FinCEN, as required under the Reporting Rule. II. Background On September 30, 2022, FinCEN published the Reporting Rule, with an effective date of January 1, 2024.2 The 1 Treasury, FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements, 87 FR 59498 (Sept. 30, 2022). 2 The Reporting Rule is the first in a series of rulemakings to implement the CTA, enacted on January 1, 2021, as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and codified at 31 U.S.C. 5336. The CTA is Title LXIV of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116–283 (Jan. 1, 2021) (the NDAA). Division F of the NDAA is the PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 Reporting Rule requires certain corporations, limited liability companies, and other similar entities (‘‘reporting companies’’) 3 to report certain identifying information about the beneficial owners who own or control such entities and the company applicants who form or register them.4 These requirements are intended to facilitate access to BOI for certain authorized recipients, including law enforcement and regulators, for the purpose of countering money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and other illicit activity.5 The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) directs FinCEN to promulgate regulations that achieve the objectives of the statute, while minimizing burdens on reporting companies to the greatest extent practicable and ensuring that the BOI collected is ‘‘highly useful’’ for national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities.6 The Reporting Rule requires reporting companies to report to FinCEN within prescribed time periods information about themselves, as well as information about two categories of individuals: (1) the beneficial owners of the reporting company; and (2) the company applicants, who are the individuals who filed a document to create the reporting company or register it to do business. For a domestic or foreign reporting company created or registered to do business in the United States before the rule’s effective date of January 1, 2024, an initial BOI report must be filed by January 1, 2025.7 For a reporting company created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, however, the Reporting Rule requires that an initial BOI report must be filed within 30 days of the earlier of the date on which it receives actual notice or public notice that it has been created or registered.8 III. Proposed Extension of Time for Certain Reporting Companies FinCEN proposes to extend the period for certain reporting companies to file initial BOI reports. Under this proposed amendment to the Reporting Rule, reporting companies created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, would have 90 days to submit their initial BOI Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, which includes the CTA. 3 See 31 U.S.C. 5336(a)(11). 4 See U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements, 87 FR 59498, 59498–99 (Sept. 30, 2022). 5 Public Law 116–283, Section 6402 (Jan. 1, 2021). 6 Id. 7 31 CFR 1010.380(a)(iii). 8 31 CFR 1010.380(a)(i)–(ii). E:\FR\FM\28SEP1.SGM 28SEP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66728-66730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21177]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 54

[REG-120727-21]
RIN 1545-BQ29

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration

29 CFR Part 2590

RIN 1210-AC11

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

45 CFR Parts 146 and 147

[CMS-9902-P]
RIN 0938-AU93


Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction 
Equity Act; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Employee 
Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor; Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Proposed rules; extension of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document extends the comment period for the proposed 
rules entitled ``Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and 
Addiction Equity Act'' that were published in the August 3, 2023, issue 
of the Federal Register. The comment period for the proposed rules, 
which had been scheduled to close on October 2, 2023, is extended 15 
days to October 17, 2023.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rules published August 3, 
2023, at 88 FR 51552, is extended. To be assured consideration, 
comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below, no 
later than October 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to the addresses specified 
below. Any comment that is submitted will be shared with the Department 
of the Treasury (Treasury Department), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 
and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Please do not 
submit duplicates.
    Comments will be made available to the public. Warning: Do not 
include any personally identifiable information

[[Page 66729]]

(such as name, address, or other contact information) or confidential 
business information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All 
comments are posted on the internet exactly as received and can be 
retrieved by most internet search engines. No deletions, modifications, 
or redactions will be made to the comments received, as they are public 
records. Comments may be submitted anonymously.
    In commenting, please refer to file code 1210-AC11. Because of 
staff and resource limitations, the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot 
accept comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission.
    Comments, including mass comment submissions, must be submitted in 
one of the following two ways (please choose only one of the ways 
listed):
    1. Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this 
regulation to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the ``Submit a 
comment'' instructions.
    2. By mail. You may mail written comments to the following address 
ONLY: Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance, 
Employee Benefits Security Administration, Room N-5653, U.S. Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: 
1210-AC11.
    Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received 
before the close of the comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shira McKinlay, Internal Revenue 
Service, Department of the Treasury, at 202-317-5500; Beth Baum or 
David Sydlik, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor, at 202-693-8335; David Mlawsky, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services, Department of Health and Human Services, at 410-786-6851.

Customer Service Information

    Individuals interested in obtaining information from DOL concerning 
private employment-based health coverage laws may call the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Toll-Free Hotline at 1-866-444-
EBSA (3272) or visit the DOL's website (www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa).
    In addition, information from HHS on private health insurance 
coverage and coverage provided by self-funded, non-Federal governmental 
group health plans can be found on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services (CMS) website (www.cms.gov/cciio), and information on health 
care reform can be found at www.Healthcare.gov or https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/. In addition, information about mental and 
behavioral health and addiction is available at https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health and https://www.samhsa.gov/find-support.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the proposed rules, ``Requirements 
Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act,'' 
released by the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and HHS 
(collectively, the Departments) on July 25, 2023, and published in the 
Federal Register on August 3, 2023 (88 FR 51552), the Departments 
solicited public comments on proposals to amend the regulations that 
implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and 
Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and establish new regulations for 
the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses 
required under MHPAEA, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2021. The proposed rules would amend the existing NQTL standard to 
prevent group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group 
or individual health insurance coverage that provides both medical and 
surgical benefits and mental health or substance use disorder benefits 
from using NQTLs to place greater limits on access to mental health and 
substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical/surgical 
benefits. As part of these proposed changes, the proposed rules would 
require plans and issuers to collect and evaluate relevant data in a 
manner reasonably designed to assess the impact of NQTLs on access to 
mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical 
benefits, and propose a special rule for NQTLs related to network 
composition. The proposed rules also would amend existing examples and 
add new examples on the application of the rules for NQTLs to clarify 
and illustrate the protections of MHPAEA. In addition, the proposed 
rules would set forth the content requirements for NQTL comparative 
analyses and specify how plans and issuers must make these comparative 
analyses available to the Departments, as well as to an applicable 
State authority, and participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. The 
Departments also solicited comments on whether there are ways to 
improve the coverage of mental health and substance use disorder 
benefits through other provisions of Federal law. Additionally, HHS 
proposed amendments to implement the sunset provision for self-funded, 
non-Federal governmental plan elections to opt out of compliance with 
MHPAEA, as adopted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The 
comment period for the proposed rules was scheduled to close on October 
2, 2023.
    Additionally, on July 25, 2023, DOL, in collaboration with HHS and 
the Treasury Department, issued Technical Release 2023-01P.\1\ The 
Technical Release sets out principles and seeks public comment to 
inform future guidance with respect to the application of the proposed 
data collection and evaluation requirements to NQTLs related to network 
composition and a potential time-limited enforcement safe harbor for 
plans and issuers that include data in their comparative analyses that 
demonstrates they meet or exceed all of the thresholds identified in 
future guidance with respect to NQTLs related to network composition. 
Specifically, the Technical Release solicits feedback on the type, 
form, and manner for the data that plans and issuers would be required 
to include, along with other relevant data as appropriate, as part of 
their comparative analyses for NQTLs related to network composition 
which must be submitted to the Departments upon request. The Technical 
Release also solicits feedback on how to define certain thresholds for 
required data and a potential time-limited enforcement safe harbor to 
be specified in future guidance that, if satisfied, would demonstrate 
to the Departments that a plan or coverage provides comparable access 
to in-network providers for mental health and substance use disorder 
benefits as compared to medical/surgical benefits. In turn, if all of 
these safe harbor thresholds are met or exceeded, the plan or issuer 
would not be subject to Federal enforcement under MHPAEA with respect 
to NQTLs related to network composition for a specified period of time. 
Comments on Technical Release 2023-01P should be sent via email to 
[email protected]. All comments on Technical Release 2023-01P 
submitted to DOL will be shared with HHS, the IRS, and the Treasury 
Department and posted on DOL's Employee Benefits Security 
Administration's (EBSA) website. The comment period for Technical 
Release 2023-01P was scheduled to close on October 2, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, Technical Release 2023-01P: Request for Comment on 
Proposed Relevant Data Requirements for Nonquantitative Treatment 
Limitations (NQTLs) Related to Network Composition and Enforcement 
Safe Harbor for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers 
Subject to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (July 
25, 2023), available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/guidance/technical-releases/23-01.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Since the publication of the proposed rules in the Federal Register 
and the release of Technical Release 2023-01P on EBSA's website, there 
has been considerable interest expressed in these

[[Page 66730]]

documents, and some interested parties have requested additional time 
to review and submit comments. The Departments value public feedback as 
they consider whether and how to issue final rules and future guidance. 
In response to these requests, the Departments are extending the period 
for submitting comments on the proposed rules to October 17, 2023. 
Additionally, to ensure consistency with the comment period for the 
proposed rules, DOL is simultaneously extending the comment period for 
Technical Release 2023-01P to October 17, 2023. To be assured 
consideration, comments on the proposed rules and Technical Release 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
must be received no later than October 17, 2023.

    Dated: September 22, 2023.
Douglas W. O'Donnell,
Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, Internal Revenue 
Service.

Lisa M. Gomez,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits, Security Administration, 
Department of Labor.

Xavier Becerra,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2023-21177 Filed 9-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.