Committee advances bill to codify mental‑health fee cap while keeping services available regardless of ability to pay

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 220 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation after a brief presentation and discussion.

Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief at the Department of Health and Welfare, told the committee the bill transfers provisions from department rule into statute to reflect that mental‑health services are now provided by a contractor under the Magellan contract that began July 1. "We have in regulation a basically a dormant fee schedule ... and nobody's been paying anything since 2020, but we do retain the 5% cap on income to determine how much someone should pay, and we also maintain the requirement that nobody is denied services for an inability to pay," Larson said.

Larson described the change as administrative: the bill moves the key provisions into statute so contractors administering services can operate under a clear, statutory standard now that the state is not a direct service provider. He described the measure as budget neutral.

Senator Blaylock moved to send the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation; the motion was seconded by Senator Harris. Senator Wintrow said that after discussions with department staff she had been reassured that the bill would simplify implementation and would not cut off services for people unable to pay. "There's been a guarantee that we're not gonna cut services off if somebody actually still needs them and can't afford to pay," Senator Wintrow said.

The committee approved the motion by voice vote. The committee record does not show a roll‑call tally.

What the bill does and why it matters

House Bill 220 removes a sliding fee schedule from rule and preserves a statutory limit that individuals should not be charged more than 5% of income for certain mental‑health services. The bill also keeps the requirement that inability to pay cannot be used to deny services. Supporters framed the change as needed to align statutes with the Department of Health and Welfare’s shift to contractor‑delivered services under the Magellan contract. The department characterized the change as technical and budget neutral.

Next steps

The bill will go to the Senate floor for consideration. No amendments or further committee directions were recorded in the committee hearing.