Bill would speed onboarding of mental‑health clinicians by applying 30‑day credentialing standard

A bipartisan bill, House Bill 507, would require health carriers to process credentialing applications for mental‑health providers within 30 days of a clean application — the same time frame now required for primary care physicians — and would allow in‑network coverage back to the date of a provider’s clean application in limited circumstances.

Sponsor Rep. Alicia Gregg said workforce shortages are a major barrier to behavioral health access and that quicker credentialing for mental‑health clinicians would reduce delays in onboarding new clinicians. “This bill helps to address a challenge by quickening the pace at which mental‑health providers are onboarded in New Hampshire,” Gregg said. She noted the department’s existing 30‑day standard for primary care professionals and asked the committee to apply parity to behavioral health clinicians.

The Insurance Department supported the first section of the bill, saying carriers generally could meet the 30‑day timeline for mental‑health providers, but officials warned the second section — which would require carriers to pay retroactively from the date of application if the clinician is later credentialed — raises technical issues because credentialing and contracting are distinct processes. Commissioner DJ Bettencourt and staff said carriers retain the ability to deny credentialing where background checks or other issues arise and that the department will work with the committee on precise drafting.

Industry witnesses generally backed faster credentialing but opposed the bill’s retroactive payment language as drafted. Harvard Pilgrim, Anthem and trade groups said credentialing and contracting must be addressed together: a clinician can be credentialed but still have no network contract, and a statutory requirement to pay retroactively without a negotiated contract could conflict with existing statutory language that says carriers are not required to add a provider to a network solely because credentialing standards are met.

LifeStance Health, a large behavioral health provider system, said credentialing delays have sometimes reached 60–120 days and that reducing the timeline to 30 days for mental‑health clinicians could help relieve emergency department congestion and improve outpatient access. The department and LifeStance agreed to work with carriers in subcommittee to reconcile standards and avoid unintended consequences while accelerating onboarding.

The committee closed the public hearing and directed the item to subcommittee for drafting refinements. No formal vote was taken.