Committee hears transparency bill for mental-health coverage; supporters cite access, carriers warn of duplication
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Summary
House Bill 2658 would require health carriers to annually report standardized coverage and access data for behavioral health services to the Insurance Commissioner for public posting; supporters said transparency will reveal gaps, while insurers warned it duplicates upcoming parity implementation and could be misinterpreted.
The House Healthcare and Wellness Committee took testimony on House Bill 2658, the ‘‘Truth in Mental Health Coverage’’ measure requiring health carriers to submit standardized templates of coverage and access data for mental health and substance-use disorder services for public posting and an interactive dashboard.
Kim Weidner, staff to the committee, and sponsor Representative Stoner described the bill’s requirements: carriers would submit disaggregated data by facility and provider type, utilization metrics, out-of-network use, reimbursement averages and other measures beginning in 2028; the Insurance Commissioner must post underlying data and maintain a consumer-facing dashboard.
Supporters including Kara Cheevers of Inseparable, professional associations and providers argued the data already exist, that transparency will help consumers and employers compare plans, and that better visibility can reduce untreated behavioral-health problems and downstream costs. Jane Beyer of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner said OIC has been collecting relevant data and is willing to work with the sponsor to avoid duplication.
Opponents, including Marissa Ingalls for the Association of Washington Healthcare Plans, said the state is already implementing a major parity law (HB 1432) and that adding broad new reporting now risks diverting resources and creating confusion; carriers warned reported metrics could be misinterpreted and urged careful design.
Testimony ended with both parties urging further technical work on metrics, timing and implementation details; committee did not vote at the public-hearing stage.