Labor Department gets teeth to enforce mental health parity in health plans

What it does

This bill adds civil monetary penalties as an enforcement tool for violations of mental health parity requirements under federal law. Currently, the Department of Labor can enforce parity rules but lacks explicit penalty authority for these violations. The bill amends ERISA to authorize the Secretary of Labor to impose fines on health plan sponsors, service providers, and administrators that fail to comply with mental health and substance use disorder parity standards, effective one year after enactment.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole function is to add a penalty mechanism to existing parity law. It does not create new substantive rights—those exist under section 712 of ERISA—but rather gives the Department of Labor explicit authority to fine violations, converting a regulatory standard into an enforceable obligation with financial teeth.

What the text implies

• The one-year implementation delay allows plans time to audit compliance but may also allow non-compliant plans to continue discriminatory practices during the transition period.
• The bill expands the class of enforceable parties to include 'service providers' and 'plan administrators' in addition to plan sponsors, potentially creating liability for third-party vendors and consultants who advise on plan design.
• Penalty authority does not automatically fund enforcement; the Department of Labor's actual capacity to investigate and prosecute violations depends on appropriations and staffing, which are not addressed in this bill.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Workers and health plan beneficiaries gain enforceable rights: the bill creates financial consequences for plans that discriminate against mental health and substance use disorder treatment, making parity protections real rather than aspirational. The penalty authority incentivizes compliance and provides the Department of Labor with leverage to correct violations.

Named in the bill

Department of Labor, ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), Health plan sponsors, Health plan service providers, Health plan administrators, Health insurance issuers, Group health plans

Where it stands

6 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Feb 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 lobbying clients named this bill on 11 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,948,564 in lobbying spend. A filing names 48 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 86% of bills with at least one filing.

Donald Norcross, the sponsor, reported $841,914 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• America's Health Insurance Plans Inc (ahip) — $3,010,000 on 1 filing
• American Academy of Family Physicians — $1,715,904 on 2 filings
• American Psychiatric Association — $529,365 on 2 filings
• American Psychological Association Services Inc.(fka American Psychological Assn — $340,000 on 1 filing
• National Council for Behavioral Health — $233,295 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.