Bill would require 30-day credentialing timeline for mental health providers to speed hiring, sponsors say
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Summary
House Bill 507 would hold health carriers to a 30-day timeline — the same standard as for primary care physicians — for credentialing mental health providers; supporters say the change will reduce delays that slow onboarding of behavioral health clinicians.
Representative Alicia Greg (Nashua) told the committee House Bill 507 shortens the deadline health carriers have to process credentialing applications for mental health providers to 30 days, matching the existing standard for primary care physicians under state managed-care law (statutory section cited in testimony). Greg and supporters said the change targets a known onboarding bottleneck that lengthens patient wait times and contributes to New Hampshire’s behavioral health workforce shortfall.
Michelle Heaton, director of life and health at the New Hampshire Insurance Department, described current statute as classifying mental health providers as specialists with a 45‑day processing period; the bill would move them into the primary-care category and shorten the period to 30 days. Heaton said industry practice already recognizes the distinction between primary and specialist credentialing and that carriers have procedures to identify the provider type on credentialing forms.
Trade association testimony (America’s Health Insurance Plans) supported the House amendment and argued aligning mental-health provider credentialing timelines with primary-care timelines accelerates integration of behavioral health and primary care, which can improve access. Committee members asked whether statute defines “mental health provider”; witnesses said the term is not spelled out in RSA 420‑J and carriers operationally identify provider types when processing applications.
The committee recorded committee action on HB 507: on the hearing day the committee moved the bill “out to pass” by consent.
Ending: Supporters said the bill is a targeted regulatory change that would reduce administrative delay in credentialing and help onboard behavioral health clinicians more rapidly; the insurance department said the bill’s alignment is operationally feasible and carriers understand who provides mental-health services.
