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Committee hears experts backing restrictions on AI therapy apps and rules for clinician use
Summary
LD 20‑82 would bar unlicensed AI apps from marketing themselves as therapy and require licensed clinicians to keep a human ‘in the loop’ for AI uses; sponsor and clinicians said the bill protects patients while allowing limited administrative uses of AI, and the department and clinical groups largely supported the approach with requests for clearer HIPAA and enforcement language.
Representative Amy (House District 111) presented LD 20‑82 as a two‑part bill to the committee, explaining it both regulates licensed clinicians’ use of AI tools and restricts internet‑based therapy apps that purport to provide psychotherapy without licensed oversight. She described a three‑tiered, risk‑based approach: permitted administrative uses (scheduling, billing), supplementary uses with client consent (notes, anonymized analytics), and a prohibition on AI making independent therapeutic decisions or generating treatment plans without licensed professional review. “Human clinicians must remain responsible for care,” she said.
Clinical and consumer groups supported the bill’s patient‑safety emphasis. Clinicians and nonprofits described cases where therapy or wellness bots gave inappropriate or dangerous advice — for example, failing to recognize suicidal intent or providing actionable but dangerous factual information. Jordan Shaw, a licensed clinical professional counselor, and Julie Shermer, immediate past president of NASW Maine chapter, said the therapeutic relationship and rapid, context‑sensitive judgment required in crisis care cannot currently be automated.
Regulatory and technical questions: Department staff and insurers generally supported the bill’s intent but asked for precision on who enforces violations and how HIPAA and federal programs apply to AI note‑taking and transcript uploads. Steve Wimmer (Transparency Coalition) urged HIPAA compliance for any AI note‑taking systems and argued for explicit language in the bill to require secure handling of clinical data.
Sponsor’s framing and next steps: Representative Amy said the bill’s two parts are severable and that the committee could act on one or both sections. The public hearing closed with broad support and detailed technical questions the committee asked to be addressed at a forthcoming work session.
Ending: The bill awaits work‑session review; witnesses recommended clarifying HIPAA requirements, informed‑consent language, and enforcement mechanisms for apps marketed as therapy.
