Senate debate highlights unreliable behavioral-health directories; reform bill tabled for fiscal review
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Summary
Senator Collimore said an audit found 69% of behavioral-health provider listings are inaccurate; third substitute House Bill 71 would require insurers to update directories at least every 60 days and expedite access when in-network providers are unavailable. The Senate initially read the bill but voted to table it on third for fiscal impact.
Senators on the floor discussed a bill aimed at improving access to behavioral-health care after an audit found a high percentage of inaccurate listings in insurance provider directories.
Senator Collimore cited the legislative auditor general’s audit, saying it found that "69% of those providers were ghost providers," and argued HB71 requires insurers to publish comprehensive provider directories and update them at least every 60 days. The bill would also require insurers to offer a single-case agreement with an out-of-network provider when an in-network provider is not available within a specified timeframe (for example, seven days for standard care or 24 hours for crisis care). The measure would create a working group to study a statewide behavioral-health provider directory and authorize the state insurance commissioner to adopt enforcement rules and penalties.
Senator Bass asked whether penalties and certain regulatory provisions (including for marriage and family therapists) were still in the bill after substitutions; the sponsor said those elements had been removed in the latest substitute. After floor discussion and an explanation of policy aims, Senator Wilson moved to table the bill on third for fiscal impact; the chamber voted to table HB71. The sponsor said he would continue to review the bill and verify details.
The action preserves the bill for further fiscal analysis before final passage. The transcript does not include an exact fiscal amount but floor sponsors acknowledged a potential fiscal implication and that penalties and some licensing language had been removed in substitution.
