SB 280

Abstract

Health insurance; mental health parity; required report. Codifies an existing requirement that the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance make an annual report regarding claims information for mental health and substance use disorder benefits. The bill adds information regarding network adequacy to such report and requires the Bureau to submit the report to the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor by September 1 of each year. The bill directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a third-party review of the Bureau's report. The bill requires JLARC, in conducting its review, to examine the information compiled by the Bureau from 2017 through 2020 and any other information it deems relevant and to report (i) its findings regarding mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits parity with medical and surgical benefits and access to mental health and substance abuse disorder services and (ii) its recommendations, if any, to the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth in the Twenty-First Century by December 1, 2020.