HB 5617 Summary

• Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to the legislature and three state councils by March 1 each year detailing mental health parity compliance.

• Mandates identification and comparison of all financial requirements and quantitative treatment limitations applied to mental health and substance use disorder benefits versus medical and surgical benefits to ensure non-restrictiveness.

• Requires description of medical necessity criteria development processes for both mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits.

• Mandates identification of all nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) that apply equally to both mental health and medical/surgical benefits, with prohibition on separate NQTLs for mental health benefits.

• Requires comprehensive analysis demonstrating that mental health benefit criteria and NQTLs are comparable to and applied no more stringently than medical/surgical benefit criteria, including documentation of evidentiary standards and comparative findings of compliance with federal parity laws.