Bill > S593

This bill aims to promote the accessibility, quality, and continuity of care for consumers of behavioral health, substance use disorder, and mental health services. The key provisions include: 1. Allowing providers of these services to jointly negotiate with carriers and behavioral health managers on various matters, such as fees, utilization review, and quality assurance programs, with protection from antitrust laws under the State Action Doctrine. 2. Establishing a Behavioral Health Insurance Contract Review Board to review and approve or disapprove the terms of these jointly negotiated contracts based on whether they promote the availability of quality services. 3. Prohibiting carriers or behavioral health managers from taking retaliatory action against providers for engaging in or choosing not to engage in the joint negotiation process, and providing civil remedies for providers who experience such retaliation. 4. Requiring carriers and behavioral health managers to annually notify providers of their protections under the law. The bill aims to empower providers to collectively negotiate with payers, while also providing a regulatory framework to ensure the resultant contracts promote access to quality behavioral health, substance use disorder, and mental health services.

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https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S593