HB 1242 Summary

• Establishes provisional or associate-level licensure for marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, and psychologists in Hawaii who are completing post-degree, pre-license training requirements.

• Authorizes insurance reimbursement for services provided by these supervised associate-level practitioners, with billing rates commensurate with their training level.

• Allows psychologist license applicants to take licensing examinations before completing post-doctoral supervised experience requirements.

• Removes the previous "marriage and family therapy intern" and "mental health counselor intern" designations, replacing them with provisional licensure and associate practitioner status.

• Addresses Hawaii's designation as a health professional shortage area by enabling more mental health professionals to be paid for their work while completing licensure requirements, intended to improve access to mental health services and reduce workforce exodus to other states.