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Panel approves bill allowing psychiatric providers to receive NEMT reimbursement
Summary
HB 1030 would allow institutions for mental disease to be reimbursed for nonemergency medical transportation for psychiatric services; the committee reported the bill favorably after stakeholders described transportation as a barrier to care.
Representative Annie Spell presented HB 1030 to enable institutions and certain psychiatric providers to receive reimbursement for nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) tailored to psychiatric patients. Supporters, including hospital associations and behavioral-health providers, said transportation remains a major barrier to accessing care for people with substance-use and co-occurring disorders and that existing NEMT programs are sometimes unable to meet psychiatric transport needs.
Spell said the bill is not intended to supplant private NEMT vendors but to fill an access gap for vulnerable patients. The committee heard support from multiple health-system representatives and reported the bill favorably with no recorded opposition.
