[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 159 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1007-E1008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 29, 2022

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 7780) to 
     support the behavioral needs of students and youth, invest in 
     the school-based behavioral health workforce, and ensure 
     access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits:

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the cost 
estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office for H.R. 7780, the 
Mental Health Matters Act. The cost estimate was not available at the 
time of the filing of the Committee report.

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                               Washington, DC, September 26, 2022.
     Hon. Robert C. (Bobby) Scott,
     Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost

[[Page E1008]]

     estimate for H.R. 7780, the Mental Health Matters Act.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jessica 
     Hale.
           Sincerely,
                                                Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                         Director.
       Enclosure.

       H.R. 7780 would expand resources to address the mental 
     health of K-12 students and staff members. The bill would 
     authorize several grant programs to support school-based 
     mental health services and providers. It would require 
     postsecondary institutions that receive federal financial 
     assistance to develop policies to identify and provide 
     special accommodations to individuals with disabilities. 
     Finally, it would prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses, 
     class action waivers, and representation waivers in employer-
     sponsored benefit plans under the Employment Retirement 
     Income Security Act of 1974.
       CBO estimates that the bill would have no effect on direct 
     spending and would increase revenues over the 2022-2032 
     period. The bill contains provisions that would increase 
     spending subject to appropriation, but CBO has not completed 
     an estimate of those costs.

                                          ESTIMATED REVENUE EFFECTS OF H.R. 7780, THE MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS ACT
  [As Posted on the Website of the House Committee on Rules on September 23, 2022, https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-
117HR7780RH-RCP117-67.pdf]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029   2030   2031   2032  2022-2027  2022-2032
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Increases in Revenues
 
Estimated Revenues...................................      0      0      2      3      3      3      3      3      4      4      4        11         29
On-Budget Revenues...................................      0      0      2      3      3      3      3      3      4      4      4        11         29
Off-Budget Revenues..................................      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0         0          0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Section 602 of H.R. 7780 would allow the Secretary of Labor 
     to impose civil monetary penalties on plan sponsors and 
     administrators of group health plans if they fail to meet 
     requirements of parity in mental health and substance use 
     disorder benefits; the penalties would begin one plan year 
     after the date of enactment. Section 602 also would clarify 
     existing provisions regarding the re-adjudication and payment 
     of benefits to remedy violations.
       Based on the number of violations cited in Department of 
     Labor reports regarding mental health parity enforcement, CBO 
     projects that there would be about 11 violations of mental 
     health parity requirements per year with a small portion of 
     those violations resulting in penalty collections. In total, 
     CBO estimates that penalty collections would increase 
     revenues by about $29 million over the 2022-2032 period.
       H.R. 7780 would impose private-sector mandates as defined 
     in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act by prohibiting mandatory 
     arbitration clauses, class action waivers, and representation 
     waivers in employee benefit plans covered by the Employee 
     Retirement Income Security Act. It also would deem such 
     provisions in existing contracts as unenforceable. The cost 
     of the mandate would include any difference between the 
     amounts received in rulings reached through the courts versus 
     through arbitration. Because the resolution of arbitration 
     proceedings is generally confidential, there is little data 
     to compare with the outcome of traditional lawsuits. 
     Furthermore, the number and type of claims that would be 
     filed in the courts in the absence of arbitration is 
     uncertain. Therefore, CBO cannot determine the cost of the 
     mandate.

                          ____________________