If you have something to say about how mental health parity laws are being followed, here’s your chance: The Connecticut Insurance Department is soliciting written comments on how it can ensure that insurance companies comply with state and federal laws requiring that they treat mental health the same way they treat medical issues.

The move is required by the law passed earlier this year in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The legislation drew most attention for its provisions relating to firearms, but it also included several provisions related to mental health. One requires the insurance commissioner to seek input on ways the department could check for compliance with mental health parity laws from both the public and from “stakeholders” including the state healthcare advocate, insurance companies, health care professionals and behavioral health advocacy groups.

The insurance department launched a website.here to accept electronic comments. People can also send comments by mail, hand deliver them or send them by courier. Information on how to submit them is available 

Comments will be accepted through October 15. They will be included in a report issued at the end of the year to the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate and Public Health committees.

The insurance department has faced  for its handling of mental health parity issues, although it has said that existing law and regulations lack specificity, making regulation challenging.criticism

(This story originally appeared at CTMirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror, an independent, non-profit news organization covering government, politics, and public policy in the state.)