Bill would standardize mental health parity reporting in Nevada, proposing NAIC/SURF-based filings and protections for patient data

Assemblywoman Lisa Cole introduced Assembly Bill 207 to require standardized reporting to the Nevada Division of Insurance to help enforce mental health parity under federal law.

"Mental health impacts every family, every community," Cole said. She said that current law guarantees parity but transparency is limited because reporting arrives to the state in disparate forms. The bill would direct carriers to use an established standardized system used for federal reporting — the NAIC electronic filing framework often referred to as SURF/SERF in testimony — to supply data on denials, medical necessity criteria and other items that state and federal regulators use to assess parity compliance.

Spencer Flanders, presenting for the Nevada Psychological Association, said the proposed change would make the state’s data consistent with federal reporting and that multiple other states already use the NAIC SURF system for parity oversight, listing California, Oregon, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Ohio and Arizona.

Dr. Laurie Drucker, a practicing psychologist and president-level representative of the state association, told the committee she and other providers have experienced increased denials, recoupments and onerous credentialing delays that impede access to care. She said survey data from Nevada mental-health providers shows rising co-pay and deductible burdens and increased prior authorization denials for behavioral health services.

Supporters asked the committee to add statutory protections for personally identifiable information; the draft presented at the hearing included language to exclude individual patient identifiers from public disclosure.

Shelly Capurro of the Nevada Association of Health Plans testified in neutral and said insurers are working with sponsors on carve-outs for legitimate trade secrets and proprietary materials and flagged NRS 333.333 as the statute to consider for protection of proprietary information.

Committee members asked whether the Division of Insurance already receives federal SURF data; presenters said the state receives parity-related information but often not in a single, standardized feed suitable for public analysis and that state-level SURF-style reporting would improve transparency. Members also asked about enforcement remedies; presenters said the Division can require corrective action and the federal oversight for MHPAEA provides an enforcement backstop.

No vote was recorded; sponsors said they are working with insurers to refine the confidentiality and trade-secret carve-outs in the bill text.

Ending: Sponsor and proponents said the bill would improve Nevada’s ability to identify parity violations and to monitor insurer practices; stakeholders continue to negotiate statutory language protecting proprietary and personally identifiable information.