Plan sponsors and administrators of group health plans have had no shortage of mental health parity developments to track over the past two years: a new final rule in 2024, a federal lawsuit challenging key parts of it, and a blanket non-enforcement policy from the responsible federal agencies. Now, on September 8, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) has weighed in again, this time with a Field Assistance Bulletin[1] and a companion self-compliance tool[2] that signal where the agency intends to focus its enforcement energy going forward.
At a high level, DOL is trying to bring some order to a compliance landscape that plan sponsors, insurers, and their advisors have found genuinely difficult to navigate. The important nuance is that the Bulletin narrows DOL's enforcement focus without narrowing the underlying legal obligation, and it leaves at least one open question whose answer may turn on how pending litigation is resolved.
Background on MHPAEA
The Mental Health Parity and… Read the complete article here...
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