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Committee approves bill to bar preauthorization for mental‑health crisis services
Summary
Representatives told senators House Bill 1275 will require parity by prohibiting insurers from requiring preauthorization for mental‑health crisis care; committee approved the bill by voice vote.
Rep. Frank Kavanaugh, sponsor of House Bill 1275, told the Senate committee the measure would stop insurers from requiring preauthorization when a person presents in a mental‑health crisis. He said the change is a parity issue and compared mental‑health crisis care to emergency physical‑health care, which does not require prior authorization.
"We found out a lot of them were getting the dials on their claims because they said they needed to have a pre authorization," Kavanaugh said, referencing crisis stabilization units’ billing issues. "For me, it's really a parity issue because it doesn't matter if it's a mental health crisis or a physical health crisis. It's a crisis."
Committee members asked whether state EBD rules already cover crisis care; Kavanaugh said state employee programs did not require preauthorization and that the bill language included the state board of finance to promulgate rules if needed. Senators expressed support and the committee voice‑voted the bill Do Pass.
Sponsors said the bill should have no fiscal impact on the Employee Benefits Division and emphasized rapid access to crisis stabilization care as the policy goal.
