An Act providing continuity of care for mental health treatment

This Massachusetts bill ensures that individuals with mental health insurance can continue their treatment with a provider even if that provider is removed from the insurance network or the insurance company changes. It defines a "continuing course of treatment" as having at least one visit in the past four months for the same or similar condition. Under the new rules, insurance carriers must cover these out-of-network visits at the same rate they pay for in-network services, without charging patients extra deductibles or copayments unless the specific cost of using an out-of-network provider is proven to be higher. The law also requires carriers to justify any increased costs to the state's health policy division before imposing higher fees on patients.