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Bill would add marriage and family therapists, alcohol and drug counselors to Nevada’s HEAL loan-repayment program
Summary
Senate Bill 266, presented to the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs, would expand the student loan repayment program administered by the State Treasurer (the HEAL program) to include marriage and family therapists and alcohol and drug counselors; supporters said it will help recruit behavioral-health professionals to underserved areas.
Senator Angie Taylor introduced Senate Bill 266, which would expand Nevada’s student loan repayment program for providers who serve in underserved communities — commonly referred to in testimony as the HEAL program — to include marriage and family therapists (MFTs), licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselors, and licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselors.
"This small change will allow these professions ... to participate in the program as well," Senator Angie Taylor said, explaining that AB45 from the prior (82nd) session established the program and that behavioral-health professions had been inadvertently omitted from the original statutory definitions.
Dr. Ruthann Wright, a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed alcohol and drug counselor who testified as a co-presenter, described the workforce and licensing realities that motivated the change. "I have currently have an intern who is paying $350 that is very hard for her to come by to take a test so she can be licensed," Wright said, describing the licensing costs and student-debt burdens for trainees in her field and saying that inclusion in the repayment program would help recruit and retain behavioral-health providers in rural and reservation communities.
Several local governments, health organizations, clinics and higher-education representatives testified in support. Cadence Matevich, Washoe County’s government affairs liaison, said recruiting and retaining behavioral-health professionals is a county priority. The Nevada Primary Care Association, the Nevada Public Health Association, UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno, along with providers such as Vitality Unlimited and MedEx, also voiced support.
Joelle McNutt, executive director of the Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors, noted the board’s statutory scope of practice (NRS 641A.080) and said the professions’ scope is comparable to other behavioral-health disciplines already eligible under the HEAL program.
No opposition callers were recorded in the hearing; testimony was uniformly supportive or neutral. The committee did not record a vote during this hearing.
Supporters said the bill is intended to increase access to behavioral-health care in underserved and rural areas by making loan-repayment incentives available to additional credentialed providers; they emphasized workforce shortages and licensing costs for new practitioners.
