(a) Statutory basis. This part implements the Group Market requirements of the PHS Act. Its purpose is to improve access to group health insurance coverage, to guarantee the renewability of all coverage in the group market, and to provide certain protections for mothers and newborns with respect to coverage for hospital stays in connection with childbirth. Sections 2791 and 2792 of the PHS Act define terms used in the regulations in this subchapter and provide the basis for issuing these regulations, respectively.

(b) Scope. A group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage may provide greater rights to participants and beneficiaries than those set forth in this part.

(1) Subpart B. Subpart B of this part sets forth minimum requirements for group health plans and group health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage concerning certain consumer protections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as amended, including special enrollment periods, prohibiting discrimination against participants and beneficiaries based on a health factor, and additional requirements prohibiting discrimination against participants and beneficiaries based on genetic information.

(2) Subpart C. Subpart C of this part sets forth the requirements that apply to plans and issuers with respect to coverage for hospital stays in connection with childbirth. It also sets forth the regulations governing parity between medical/surgical benefits and mental health benefits in group health plans and health insurance coverage offered by issuers in connection with a group health plan.

(3) Subpart D. Subpart D of this part sets forth exceptions to the requirements of subpart B for certain plans and certain types of benefits.

(4) Subpart E. Subpart E of this part implements requirements relating to group health plans and issuers in the Group Health Insurance Market.

(5) Subpart F. Subpart F of this part addresses the treatment of non-Federal governmental plans, and sets forth enforcement procedures.

[62 FR 16958, Apr. 8, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 57559, Oct. 27, 1998; 71 FR 75046, Dec. 13, 2006; 74 FR 51688, Oct. 7, 2009, as amended at 75 FR 27138, May 13, 2010; 79 FR 10313, Feb. 24, 2014]