Bill > HB280

This bill aims to codify federal requirements for health insurance carriers regarding mental health and substance use disorder benefits into state law, ensuring parity between these benefits and medical/surgical benefits. It defines key terms like "carrier" (which includes insurers, health maintenance organizations, and other entities providing health plans), "CORE TREATMENT" (a standard treatment recognized by current medical practice), and clarifies definitions for "mental health benefits" and "substance use disorder benefits" to align with federal standards, excluding medical/surgical benefits and each other. The bill mandates that carriers identify and analyze "nonquantitative treatment limitations" (treatment limits not based on dollar amounts, like prior authorization requirements) across different benefit categories (inpatient, outpatient, etc.) and collect data to assess their impact on access to care. Carriers must demonstrate that these limitations are applied comparably and no more stringently to mental health and substance use disorder benefits than to medical/surgical benefits, and that the underlying standards are not biased. If data shows material differences in access, carriers must explain these differences and outline corrective actions. The Maryland Insurance Administration (Commissioner) will review carrier reports for compliance, notify carriers of noncompliance, and can issue administrative orders or impose penalties if issues are not resolved, with carriers bearing the burden of proving compliance with the "Parity Act" (the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008) and related state regulations.