Healthcare (Insurance)

HB 1134 amends the legal definition of "treatment of a mental illness or substance abuse" within specific sections of Indiana's insurance laws. This change directly affects insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments by altering how these services are categorized under the law. The key mechanism is updating the definition in the Indiana Code, which could impact how insurers determine coverage requirements for these treatments. The bill does not create new coverage mandates but adjusts the existing legal framework governing insurance policies. It is currently referred to the Committee on Insurance for further review.

Prohibits a state employee health plan, a policy of accident and sickness insurance, and a health maintenance organization that provides coverage for advanced, metastatic cancer and associated conditions from requiring that, before providing coverage for a prescription drug, the insured fail to successfully respond to a different prescription drug or prove a history of failure of a different prescription drug.

Provides that a public safety employee who: (1) becomes disabled on or after January 1, 2020; (2) receives a Class 1 or a Class 2 impairment benefit; and (3) is eligible for group health insurance coverage for the public safety employee and the public safety employee's spouse or dependents; must pay no more than the amount that the public safety employee would have been required to pay if still serving as a current active public safety employee employed by the local unit public employer. Specifies that the public safety employee must file a written request for insurance coverage with the employer before June 1, 2026, or within 90 days after the public safety employee begins receiving disability benefits, whichever is later. Specifies that if a public safety agency closes, merges, or otherwise ceases to exist, the local unit public employer that caused the public safety agency to cease to exist, shall continue to provide certain insurance coverage. Provides that a surviving spouse or dependent of a public safety employee who dies in the line of duty must pay the same amount that the public safety employee would have been required to pay if still serving as a current active public safety employee employed by the local unit public employer for coverage selected by the surviving spouse or dependent under the group health insurance program.

Requires a state employee health plan, policy of accident and sickness insurance, and health maintenance organization contract to provide coverage for doula services. Requires Medicaid pregnancy services to include reimbursement for doula services.