The Trump administration is actively reconsidering a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) final rule issued by the Biden administration in late 2024 and has indicated it will implement a partial non-enforcement policy for portions of the rule applicable to the 2025 and 2026 plan years while the government reexamines its MHPAEA enforcement program.

On May 9, 2025, the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services (the Departments) requested a pause in the litigation of an ongoing challenge against the Biden-era final rule (the Final Rule) filed by the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). The court granted the request and stayed the case on May 12, 2025. The Final Rule significantly revamped and expanded the rules for non-quantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) under MHPAEA. In their motion to hold the case in abeyance, the Departments stated that they may ultimately decide to modify or rescind the Final Rule and that they intend to partially pause relevant enforcement activities until their review is complete. The Departments also indicated that they expect to publicly release an enforcement policy memorializing their intention to not enforce portions of the Final Rule.

The government’s stay comes as welcome news not only to ERIC (who agreed to the pause but reserved the right to resume litigation if necessary) but also to payors who would have faced burdensome requirements had the rule remained in place and been strictly enforced. While certain provisions will not come into effect until January 2026, the Final Rule defined new NQTL comparative analysis requirements and requires ERISA plan fiduciaries to certify that they have prudently selected and monitored qualified service providers to perform these analyses. The Final Rule also introduced a “meaningful benefits” requirement mandating coverage of meaningful benefits for mental health and substance use disorder in every classification where meaningful medical or surgical benefits are offered.