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Mental Health Parity Act Transition Notices From Nonfederal Government Plans

MHPA was signed into law on September 26, 1996. The law provides that employer group health plans and health insurance issuers, insurance companies and managed care organizations offering mental health benefits will not be allowed to set annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental health benefits that are lower than any such dollar limits for medical and surgical benefits. A group health plan or policy that does not impose an annual or lifetime dollar limit on medical and surgical benefits may not impose such a limit on mental health benefits. MHPA protections do not extend to benefits for substance abuse or chemical dependency. Also, MHPA does not apply to any policies sold in the individual market.

A group health plan can claim an exemption from these requirements if the plan's costs increase one percent or more due to the application of MHPA's requirements. The interim rules provide a transition period for compliance with these requirements. No enforcement action will be taken against a group health plan (or issuer) that is subject to the MHPA requirements prior to April 1, 1998 solely because the plan has claimed the increased cost exemption based on assumptions inconsistent with the interim rules, provided that the plan is amended to comply with the parity requirements no later than March 31, 1998 and the plan complies with certain notice requirements.

A group health plan must provide notice to the applicable Federal agency and post notice at the location(s) where documents must be made available for examination under ERISA regulations. The notice must indicate the plan's intent to use the transition period by 30 days after the first day of the plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1998, but in no event later than March 31, 1998.

In accordance with the above, all nonfederal governmental plans that wished to use this transition period were instructed to send their transition notices to: HCFA, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD. 21244-1850. Our listing contains all of the notices received; therefore, it is possible some plans listed are not actually nonfederal governmental plans. This listing has been updated through April 16, 1998.

ARKANSAS

City of Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR
CEI Engineering Associates, Inc., Bentonville, AR
Clarksville Light & Water Company, Clarksville, AR
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (Little Rock Branch), Little Rock, AR
Little River Nursing Home, Ashdown, AR
Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services, Little Rock, AR
North Little Rock Water Department, North Little Rock, AR
Stone County Medical Center, Mountain View, AR
Sun Industries, Jonesboro, AR
The City of Jonesboro, Jonesboro, AR
The Community School, Inc., Batesville AR
Washington County, Fayetteville, AR
White County Courthouse, Searcy, AR

GEORGIA

Georgia Municipal Association, Atlanta, GA
Schanen Consulting Group, Atlanta, GA

IDAHO

Benewah Community Hospital, St. Maries, ID
City of Burley, Burley, ID
Franklin County, Preston, ID
Franklin County Medical Center, Preston, ID
Minidoka County, Rupert, ID
Steele Memorial Hospital, Salmon, ID
Teton Valley Hospital & Surgicenter, Driggs, ID
Wood River Medical Center, Sun Valley, ID

INDIANA

Johnson County Flex Plan, Franklin, IN

MASSACHUSETTS

City of Chicopee, Chicopee, MA
City of Taunton, Taunton, MA
City of Westfield, Westfield, MA
County of Bristol, Taunton, MA
County of Norfolk, Dedham, MA
Everett City Hall, Everett, MA
Medex, North Brookfield, MA
Town of Arlington, Arlington, MA
Town of Burlington, Burlington, MA
Town of Framingham, Framingham, MA
Town of Needham, Needham, MA
Town of Northbridge, Whitinsville, MA
Town of Palmer Flexible Health Plan, Palmer, MA
Town of Southborough, Southborough, MA
Town of Wakefield Group Medical Program, Wakefield, MA
Town of Watertown, Watertown, MA

MICHIGAN

Charter Township of Clinton, Clinton Twp., MI

MINNESOTA

Bremer Financial Services, St. Paul, MN

NEW YORK

Azon Corporation, Johnson City, NY
Bricklayers Local #42, Endwell, NY
Cayuga Savings Bank, Auburn, NY
County of Cayuga Employees' Health Insurance, Auburn, NY
County Office of Personnel/Civil Service, Cortland, NY
G.C. Hanford Mfg. Co., Syracuse, NY
Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc., Syracuse, NY
Health Care Data Systems, Dewitt, NY
Marquardt Switches, Inc., Cazernovia, NY
Schneider Packaging Equipment Co., Brewerton, NY
Steuben County Government, Bath, NY
The Public Broadcasting Council of CNY, Syracuse, NY
Tompkins County Personnel Department, Ithaca, NY
Town of Geddes, Solvay, NY
Wine Merchants, Ltd., Liverpool, NY

OHIO

City of Steubenville, Steubenville, OH

OREGON

Basin Tire Service, Eugene, OR
Bob Frink Chevrolet-Geo, Inc., Portland, OR
Bruce Chevrolet, Inc., Hillsboro, OR
Buehner Fry, Inc., Bend OR
Chase Industries, Inc., Durus Div., Redmond, OR
City of Grants Pass, Grants Pass, OR
City of Salem, Salem, OR
College Housing Northwest, Portland, OR
Cone Lumber Co., Eugene, OR
Coquille Valley Hospital District, Coquille, OR
Cosgrave Vergeer & Kester, Portland, OR
Creswell Care Center, OR
Delon Olds Co., Salem, OR
Douglas County Human Resour ces, Roseburg, OR
Dynagraphics, Inc., Portland, OR
Excel Photo, Salem, OR
Eugene Water & Electric Board, Eugene, OR
Freelin-Wade Co., McMinnville, OR
Godfather's Pizza, Beaverton, OR
Greater Albany Public School District, Albany, OR
Harney District Hospital, Burns, OR
H&C Associates, Beaverton, OR
Holgate Center, Portland, OR
Holman Distribution Center of Oregon, Inc., Milwaukie, OR
Hood River County, Hood River, OR
Isler & Company, Portland, OR
Jackson County Management, Medford, OR
JV Northwest, Inc., Canby, OR
Kadel's Auto Body, Tigard, OR
Klau-Med, Inc., Beaverton, OR
Lane Community College, OR
Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, OR
LTM, Incorporated, Medford, OR
Michelbook Estates, Inc., McMinnville, OR
Morse Brothers, Inc., Lebanon, OR
Mt. Angel Beverage, Mt. Angel, OR
Mt. Bachelor, Inc., Bend, OR
Mt. Hood Community Mental Health Center, Inc., Gresham, OR
Network Behavioral HealthCare, Inc., Portland, OR
Northwest Christian College, Eugene, OR
Northwest Firefighters Relief Assoc., Lake Oswego, OR
OMNI Products, Inc., Portland, OR
Oregon Cherry Growers, Inc., Salem, OR
Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR
OSU Federal Credit Union, Corvallis, OR
Platt, Portland OR
Public Employees Benefit Board, Salem, OR
Reedville Cafe, Hillsboro, OR
Risk Management, Salem, OR
Robberson Ford Sales, Inc., Bend, OR
Rogue Aggregates, Inc., Medford, OR
Rundel Products, Inc., Portland, OR
Shedrain Corporation, Portland, OR
Southern Coos Health District, Bandon OR
Sunset Imports, inc., Beaverton, OR
Supra Products, Inc., Salem, OR
Toshiba Ceramics America, Hillsboro, OR
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Aloha, OR
United Way of Benton County, Corvallis, OR
Update Management, Inc., Portland, OR
Wallace Buick Company, Portland, OR
Widmar Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Willamette Industries, Albany Paper Mill, Albany, OR

TEXAS

Carrollton-Farmers Branch District, Carrollton, TX

WASHINGTON

Alpha Pest Control, Inc., Vancouver, WA
Davis Landscape Nursery,

WISCONSIN

Cady Cheese, Wilson, WI
City of Manitowoc, Manitowoc, WI
City of Rice Lake, Rice Lake, WI
Citizens Community Federal Credit Union, Eau Claire, WI
Clothes Clinic, Inc., West Bend, WI
Community Living Alliance, Madison, WI
Create-Ability, Inc., Madison, WI
De La Rue Cash Systems, Watertown, WI
Eau Claire, County, Eau Claire, WI
Fall CreekValley Nursing Home, Fall Creek, WI
Glenhaven, Inc., Glenwood City, WI
Jefferson County, Jefferson, WI
Johnson Matthey, Chippewa Falls, WI
Logs National Servicing Agency, Milwaukee, WI
Manitowoc County, Manitowoc, WI
MaraTech International, Wausau, WI
Meriter Health Service, Inc., Madison, WI
Milwaukee County Courthouse, Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee, WI
Northwest Wisconsin HomeCare, Eau Claire, WI
Reach, Eau Claire, WI
Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc., Milwaukee, WI
Seaquist Closures, Mukwonago, WI
Town of Arbor Vitae, Arbor Vitae, WI
University Health Services, Madison, WI
VFW Dept. Of WI, Madison, WI
Village of DeForest, DeForest, WI
Wisconsin Porcelain Company, Sun Prairie, WI