To improve implementation of parity in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks comments on a new set of templates and instructional guides for state agencies to document how mental health and substance use disorder benefits provided through a state’s Medicaid managed care program, Medicaid alternative benefit plans, and/or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) comply with Medicaid and CHIP Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Final Rule requirements. These new tools are intended to standardize, streamline, and strengthen the process for states to demonstrate, and for CMS to determine, compliance with, mental health/substance use disorder parity requirements in coverage and delivery of state Medicaid and CHIP benefits. Medicaid and CHIP are important sources of insurance in rural areas, and they play a key role in financing care for people with behavioral health needs.
