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Supporters urge insurers to cover mobile crisis teams; sponsors say coverage will stabilize services
Summary
Sen. Augustine told the committee that SB 738 would require Medicaid and commercial insurers to cover mobile crisis and crisis stabilization services so programs can move from grant funding to sustainable billing. Providers and advocates said coverage would reduce ED visits and hospitalizations and produce net savings; payers did not oppose at the hearing.
Sen. Malcolm Augustine opened the hearing on SB 738 by saying the bill would help sustain mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization centers that respond to people in behavioral health crises and help avert more costly emergency and inpatient care.
Proponents from local behavioral health authorities and advocacy organizations testified they had seen demonstrable reductions in emergency department visits and hospitalizations where mobile crisis teams and stabilization centers were used, and that grant funding alone made statewide scale‑up unreliable. Dan Rabbit of Behavioral Health System Baltimore described grants that produced measurable reductions in ED visits, but cautioned that sustaining those programs requires diversified reimbursement including private insurance.
Maryanne Gibson of Inseparable and other national advocates said mobile crisis teams are clinically appropriate and significantly less expensive than inpatient care; they urged commercial coverage alongside Medicaid to stabilize funding and expand access statewide. Testimony also cited examples where coverage in neighboring jurisdictions had been adopted and yielded fiscal and clinical benefits.
Hospital representatives and community mental‑health leaders supported the measure as a public‑safety and cost‑avoidance policy. Witnesses asked the committee to adopt the bill as a step toward building an integrated, sustainable crisis response system.
Outcome: Strong supportive testimony from behavioral‑health agencies, advocacy groups and hospitals; the committee heard technical questions about reimbursement and implementation but the hearing emphasized broad support for making mobile crisis coverage an insured benefit.
