OLYMPIA – Tuesday, the Washington State House of Representatives passed House Bill 1432 which establishes a definition of “medical necessity” that includes mental health services and substance abuse disorder services.
Sponsored by Rep. Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton), the bill would require insurance carriers to cover mental health and substance use disorder services that are prescribed by patients’ doctors and deemed medically necessary.
“Too many of our friends and family members are being denied the mental health care they desperately need and were told would be covered by their health plans,” said Simmons. “Families need help to afford life-saving care, so we must ensure carriers are not unnecessarily denying coverage.”
According to Mental Health America, over 1.6 million Washington adults are living with mental illness and 1.2 million are managing a substance use disorder. For Washington’s kids, 85,000 are experiencing serious thoughts of suicide and 63,000 reported a substance use disorder. Many families with commercial health insurance are advised to remove their children from coverage so they can access Medicaid because Medicaid covers more behavioral health services than commercial insurance plans. Some young people wait until they age out of coverage under their parents’ plans to get help so they can access Medicaid coverage, going untreated in the meantime. HB 1432 aligns standards between Medicaid and commercial insurance providers, ensuring coverage for behavioral health services is available and affordable in Washington.
“At a moment when mental health issues are reaching crisis levels in our communities and impacting nearly every aspect of life ranging from education outcomes to homelessness rates, it’s time we put people first and make sure all Washingtonians can afford and receive access to the treatments they need,” Simmons said.
House Bill 1432 now heads to the Senate for consideration with bipartisan support after receiving approval with a 72-23 vote. The 105-day legislative session is scheduled to end on April 27.