Bill > H1276

This bill aims to improve access to behavioral health services by requiring various types of health insurance plans in Massachusetts to cover "behavioral health bundled services" from community behavioral health centers on a nondiscriminatory basis. These services include evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, care coordination, management, and peer support for patients with mental health, developmental, or substance use disorders, and are reimbursed through a flat rate per encounter. Specifically, the bill amends several chapters of Massachusetts law to mandate coverage for these services across different types of insurance plans, including those offered by the state's Group Insurance Commission, individual and group accident and sickness insurance policies, hospital service plans, medical service agreements, and health maintenance contracts. Community behavioral health centers are defined as clinics licensed by the Department of Public Health and regulated under a specific administrative code. The bill ensures that active and retired state employees, as well as other insured individuals, will have access to these essential behavioral health services without facing discriminatory treatment in their insurance coverage.

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https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1276