Summary Points on the Original Bill

HB 2696

Insurance Reimbursement for LCMFTs, LCPCs, and LCPs

HB 2696 changes current law by stating that any insurance company that provides reimbursement for mental health services as part of an individual or group health insurance policy shall provide reimbursement for LCMFTs, LCPCs and LCs Psychotherapists. Current law only requires that licensed clinical specialist social workers and licensed psychologists shall be protected by such a requirement. HB 2696 would add licensed clinical marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical practical professional counselors, and licensed clinical psychotherapists, all of whom are equivalently trained and credentialed and equivalently authorized by Kansas statute to diagnose and treat mental disorders as are the other providers currently receiving reimbursement by Kansas law. This change in the law would prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against providers simply on the basis of their professional licensure category. This bill does not expand the services which are required to be reimbursed pursuant to any mental health insurance mandate statutes.

Fairness

HB 2696 eliminates the unfairness pursuant to existing law. Under existing law, situations repeatedly occur whereby families or individuals who own insurance policies are denied reimbursement for the mental health provider of their choice depending upon which insurance company provides their insurance. In some cases, individuals begin their mental health therapy with a provider who is reimbursed by their insurance company, only to have their employer change insurance companies from one that reimburses all mental health providers to one that only reimburses a few specific providers, and are forced to change therapists in the middle of their treatment, or to lose insurance coverage for the therapist of their choice. This is unfair to the individual insured’s. HB 2696 would eliminate this unfairness.

Access

Currently, the state of Kansas has significant areas of the state which are underserved by the two mental health providers who are currently required to have insurance reimbursement. HB 2696 would expand the area of the state whereby insurance reimbursed providers are accessible and available to individuals in need of mental health services. Current law forces individuals who have insurance companies that do not reimburse all providers to choose either to travel long distances to see a specific reimbursed provider, to delay treatment because of united providers included by insurance companies, to do without insurance coverage for mental health services and just pay out of pocket, or to choose to ignore mental health services completely. HB 2696 would improve the accessibility of mental health services in the state of Kansas, especially in the rural areas of the state.

Current Insurance Coverage

Currently, most insurance companies voluntarily choose to reimburse licensed clinical marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical counselors, and licensed clinical psychotherapists for provision of mental health services. One of the notable exceptions to this voluntary reimbursement is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas. Approximately 36 states’ Blue Cross Blue Shield companies also fully reimburse the BSRB licensed mental health providers. If HB 2696 were to pass, every insurance company would be required to provide reimbursement for LCMFTs, LCPCs, and LCPs, but only a few isolated companies who do not currently reimburse would have to make any changes in their existing insurance coverage.