Bill > S08426

This bill strengthens protections against discrimination in health insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders by incorporating federal enforcement rules from the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. The bill requires insurers to provide meaningful mental health and substance use disorder benefits that are comparable to medical and surgical benefits across all coverage classifications. Specifically, insurers must not discriminate against individuals based on their mental health history, ensure core treatments are covered, avoid using discriminatory factors when designing treatment limitations, and collect and evaluate data to demonstrate parity in access to mental health services. The bill mandates that insurers submit annual reports, provide free treatment limitation analyses upon request, and can face penalties for non-compliance, such as a $100 per day fine for failing to provide requested analyses. The legislation applies to various types of insurance policies, including individual, group, and corporate health plans, and gives the superintendent of insurance authority to adopt rules and guidance to implement these requirements, with the goal of ensuring equitable mental health coverage.

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https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8426