[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 76 (Thursday, April 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21349-21350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08344]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public 
Comment

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95), provides the general 
public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed 
and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department 
assess the impact of its information collection requirements and 
minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public 
understand the Department's information collection

[[Page 21350]]

requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. 
Currently, the EBSA is soliciting comments on Mental Health and 
Substance Use Disorder Parity Implementation and the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2021 Part 45. A copy of the information 
collection request (ICR) may be obtained by contacting the office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
ADDRESSES section on or before June 21, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please direct all written comments regarding the information 
collection request and burden estimates to James Butikofer, Office of 
Regulations and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: 
(202) 219-4745. These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be 
submitted electronically to the following internet email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Consolidated Appropriations Act (the Act) was signed on 
December 27, 2020. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, 
and the Treasury share interpretive jurisdiction of the Mental Health 
Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and have split enforcement 
jurisdictions. The Department of Labor is responsible for enforcing 
MHPAEA with respect to private employer-sponsored group health plans. 
The Act amended MHPAEA, in part, by expressly requiring group health 
plans to perform and document a comparative analysis of the design and 
application of any non-quantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) that 
apply to medical/surgical and mental health and substance use disorder 
benefits. As of 45 days after the date of enactment of the Act 
(February 10, 2021), group health plans must make their comparative 
analyses and related information available to the Department, upon 
request. The Act also provides that the Department shall request 
comparative analyses from plans that involve a potential violation of 
MHPAEA, or upon receipt of complaints regarding noncompliance with 
MHPAEA, and any other instances in which the Department determines 
appropriate. The Department must also issue an annual report to 
Congress regarding findings of compliance and noncompliance.
    The Department, jointly with the Departments of Health and Human 
Services and the Treasury, issued FAQs about MHPAEA part 45 to provide 
guidance on how group health plans should prepare comparative analyses 
of NQTLs in order to avoid a determination of noncompliance. In 
particular, these FAQs clarify what the analyses must include to be 
sufficiently specific and detailed. These FAQs also clarify how the 
Department will evaluate comparative analyses in the course of an 
investigation, and what steps the Department will take if the plan is 
found to be noncompliant.
    On April 2, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved the information collection request (OMB Control Number 1210-
0138 under the emergency procedures for review and clearance in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. The approval is scheduled to 
expire on September 31, 2021.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's 
request for extension of OMB's approval of the Application. After 
considering comments received in response to this notice, the 
Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval. No 
change to the existing ICR is proposed or made at this time. The 
Department notes that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless 
it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICR and the 
current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity 
Implementation and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 Part 45.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0138.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 1,413,420.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Responses: 1,413,420.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,046,961.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$3,994,517.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: April 16, 2021.
Ali Khawar,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 
Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-08344 Filed 4-21-21; 8:45 am]
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