NEBGH Members only, Webinar

Heads Up, Employers! Mental Health Parity is on the Front Burner

The U.S. Department of Labor has taken action to strengthen the Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act to improve access to affordable mental health care.

Oversight and enforcement are increasing – and employers have an important role to play in compliance. Effective collaboration with plan administrators is key.

What do you need to know?

What actions do you need to take?

Speakers

Kevin J. Malone

Senior Counsel - Health Care and Life Sciences Practice
Epstein Becker Green

KEVIN J. MALONE is a Senior Counsel in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice in the Washington, DC, office of Epstein Becker Green and a Strategic Advisor in the firm’s affiliated consulting practice EBG Advisors. Mr. Malone provides regulatory and strategic guidance related to health care financing law and policy at both the federal and state levels, with a particular focus on Medicaid, Medicare, behavioral health, long-term care, and managed care. 

In addition to serving some of the largest companies in the health care industry, he also works with start-ups, regional and local health care companies, trade associations, and state and local governments. He joined Epstein Becker Green in 2016 after six years in health care financing policy roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, most recently with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Mr. Malone’s representative engagements include:

  • Serving as a secunded general counsel for a regional health plan with responsibility for managed care and government program matters
  • Serving as acting general counsel for a national laboratory network benefit management and technology company
  • Developing and serving as program manager for the nation’s first third-party commercial accreditation program assessing insurers’ capacity to comply with the requirements of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (federal Parity law). As part of this role, Mr. Malone developed the nation’s first enterprise-software solution for insurers and managed care entities’ parity compliance
  • Serving as outside counsel to regional and national health insurers and managed care companies on compliance with:
    • federal Parity law
    • the Medicare Advantage program
    • Medicaid managed care and managed long-term care programs
    • the Programs of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
    • state insurance and utilization review laws
    • state and federal laws and programs governing value-based reimbursement
  • Serving as strategic advisor and outside counsel to multiple national behavioral health medical specialty societies on the development and deployment of behavioral health clinical guidelines, intellectual property, and transactional matters
  • Serving as strategic advisor and outside counsel to a quasi-public Medicaid pre-paid inpatient health plan (PIHP) providing managed care business strategy, government relations, and legal representation covering transactional and compliance matters in an ongoing redesign of the state’s Medicaid delivery system
  • Serving as outside counsel to a multi-state, for-profit PACE company
  • Serving as outside counsel to multiple national telemental health companies on state law compliance, third-party payment, and coverage compliance and negotiations
  • Providing strategic counseling and transactional support to private equity and venture capital firms and other potential investors in managed care, behavioral health, and long-term care industries
  • Representing hospitals and health systems in value-based contract negotiations and regulatory disputes with major national payors
  • Advising states and trade associations on the design and implementation of Medicaid health delivery systems, especially those targeting Medicare-Medicaid dual-eligible beneficiaries

Prior to joining Epstein Becker Green, Mr. Malone served as a Health Insurance Specialist with the duals office, where he was the federal lead for implementing demonstration programs that aim to integrate the financing and delivery of Medicaid and Medicare benefits for dually-eligible beneficiaries in Illinois, New York State, and Washington State. Mr. Malone was a lead in the development of a new federal demonstration model for individuals with disabilities, based on the PACE model, expanding the model of care to new populations. Previously, Mr. Malone worked with the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group at CMS, developing a new policy for the identification and counseling of the medically frail within the Medicaid Expansion population.

As a Public Health Analyst with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) prior to joining CMS, Mr. Malone managed multiple multimillion-dollar federal procurements and led the agency’s efforts to help substance abuse and mental health treatment providers implement advanced contracting, billing, and care coordination practices. In addition, he spearheaded SAMHSA’s efforts at public and private insurance enrollment following the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.

Before joining HHS, Mr. Malone served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, where he founded the nation’s first male-focused domestic violence prevention project.

Elena Lynett

Vice President & Senior Consultant - National Health Compliance Practice
Segal

Ms. Lynett is a Senior Benefits Consultant in the National Health Compliance Practice Group based in Segal’s Washington, DC office and has over 15 years of experience in health care regulation and compliance. She provides analysis of federal and state law impacting group health plan coverage and is an expert on the Affordable Care Act, Mental Health Parity, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nondiscrimination and wellness provisions, and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act compliance.

Prior to joining Segal, Ms. Lynett worked as a senior health benefits attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) developing guidance and providing technical advice and training on the health provisions under Part 7 of ERISA. Prior to her career within the Department of Labor, she conducted a state and federal law compliance project for one of the nation’s largest rural health plans. She also worked as a policy assistant for the United Kingdom’s National Health Trust where she conducted a project related to compliance with a UK mental health law.

Ms. Lynett received her JD from the Catholic University, Columbus School of Law. She received a bachelor’s degree in health administration and a minor in business administration from the University of Scranton. She is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia.

Ms. Lynett frequently serves as an expert speaker and was a guest professor for the Georgetown University School of Law.

Download a PDF of the presentation HERE