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Bill would make insurer mental‑health coverage data public and standardized
Summary
House Bill 26 58 would require carriers to submit standardized coverage and access data for behavioral‑health services to the Insurance Commissioner and publish it on a consumer dashboard; advocates say it improves parity transparency while plans and some groups warned of duplication and implementation timing.
House Bill 26 58, titled the Truth in Mental Health Coverage Act in testimony, would require health carriers to submit standardized templates and disaggregated coverage and access data to the Insurance Commissioner beginning in 2028, and would require the OIC to publish the underlying data and an interactive consumer dashboard.
Representative Stoner, the prime sponsor, said the bill is intended to make the operation of behavioral‑health coverage transparent so families and employers can compare plans and better understand denials, delays and network adequacy. Stoner and proponents said the bill does not mandate new benefits and was drafted with the OIC to use data already collected by many plans.
Supporters included advocacy groups and provider associations. Kara Cheevers (Inseparable) and Darcy Huffman (NASW‑WA) said standardized reporting would show gaps and enable comparison; Dr. London Breedlove (Washington State Psychological Association) said data exists but is fragmented and hard to interpret and that transparency would improve accountability.
Opposition came from the Association of Washington Healthcare Plans and others. Marissa Ingalls said the bill layers expanded reporting mandates on top of implementation of HB 14 32 and risks diverting regulator and carrier resources; she also warned data could be misinterpreted without careful context. Kathleen Wedemeyer of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights criticized parity frameworks and urged a no vote.
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner testified pro and said OIC has enforcement experience on parity and will work with the sponsor to avoid duplicative data collection.
The hearing record shows robust stakeholder debate on timing, implementation burden, and potential for misinterpretation; committee action was not recorded in this meeting.
