Bill to require 30‑day credentialing for mental‑health providers wins departmental support; retroactive billing clause draws questions

Representative Alicia Gregg told the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee she is sponsoring House Bill 507 to shorten onboarding delays for mental‑health clinicians by requiring health carriers to process credentialing applications within 30 days and to allow in‑network billing retroactively from the date of the clean application once credentialing is complete.

Gregg said the change mirrors existing law for primary care physicians and would help reduce a bottleneck that delays patients’ access to outpatient behavioral health care. “House Bill 507 will help to address this challenge by quickening the pace at which mental health providers are onboarding in New Hampshire,” Gregg said.

Insurance Department support for credentialing limit; concerns about retroactivity and contracting

Commissioner D.J. Bettencourt and Michelle Heaton, head of the Department’s Life & Health division, told the committee the department…