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Senate committee advances bill requiring insurers to establish maternal mental health programs and screening
Summary
Senate File 1085, which requires health plans to establish maternal mental health programs with specified screening points and referral networks, was recommended to pass and referred to HHS after patient stories and clinician testimony about gaps in perinatal mental health care.
The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee voted March 6 to recommend Senate File 1085 to the Health and Human Services Committee. The bill, sponsored by Senator Mann, would require health plans to develop maternal mental health programs that include at least one screening during pregnancy and an additional screening in the early postpartum period, with further screenings as medically necessary, plus standardized referral and reporting elements.
Supporters described a gap between screening and access to specialty maternal mental health care. Dr. Sogan Ghasami, director of a perinatal psychiatry program, told the committee that perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect about one in five women and that only about 25 percent receive treatment. “Untreated maternal mental health disorders are at high cost in Minnesota,” Dr. Ghasami said, citing an estimate of approximately $2.326 billion per year in medical costs, lost productivity and social-service costs.
Family members and patients described tragic outcomes. Mary Troyer said her daughter Stacy took her life at age 41 after postpartum mental illness and urged lawmakers to require earlier screening and coverage of specialized maternal mental health services. Kristin Nowell described a year-long pathway to appropriate care that included an inpatient stay before she connected to specialized services.
The bill’s amendment adopted in committee specifies screening timing (at least one screening during pregnancy and at least one during the first six weeks postpartum, with additional screenings as medically necessary). Committee members asked whether the requirement attaches to insurers or to providers; committee counsel said the statutory requirements would be imposed on insurers, who could implement them through provider contracts and network arrangements. Members also discussed how insurers’ existing HEDIS quality measures align with the bill’s framework.
The motion by Senator Wicklund to recommend passage was adopted by voice vote. The bill advances to HHS for fiscal and implementation review.
