Senate health committee advances bill moving behavioral‑health fee schedule from rule into statute

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 2 20 to the Senate floor with a “do pass” recommendation after hearing that the measure transfers a dormant sliding fee schedule for mental‑health services from state regulation into statute.

Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief at the Department of Health and Welfare, told the committee, “House Bill 20 20 is a bill that, the department worked with representative Erickson on on the House side and which has been voted out of that body unanimously. And it follows a similar pattern to, several bills that you've seen the department bring or provide technical assistance on, that, that involve moving, rules to statute. This this bill deals with the fee schedule that, that, probably should have been best considered last year to move simultaneously as we moved into the Magellan contract on July 1.”

The bill would remove a sliding fee schedule that the department says has been dormant since 2020 and replace the regulatory language with statute to reflect that services are now provided by a contractor rather than directly by the department. Larson told the committee the draft keeps a 5 percent cap on income to determine how much a client should pay and preserves the requirement that “nobody is denied services for an inability to pay.” He described the measure as budget neutral.

Committee members stressed ensuring continuity of care under the transition to managed care. Senator Melissa Wintrow said she and staff had reviewed the language with department officials and concluded the change would better implement the cap and would not cut off services. “I really appreciate you being patient with all those questions … and especially knowing we're not going to cut off services,” Wintrow said.

Senator Dorothy Blaylock moved the motion to send the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation; the motion was seconded by Senator Harris. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the chair announced the motion passed.

The Department of Health and Welfare presented the bill as a technical and implementation update to reflect the department’s move to a contractor model under the Magellan contract. Committee discussion focused on implementation mechanics and assurances that the statutory language would preserve the current no‑denial standard for inability to pay. No fiscal changes to the department’s budget were presented at committee.

With the committee recommendation recorded, the bill will appear next on the Senate floor calendar for further consideration.