An Act providing continuity of care for mental health treatment

This bill (SD 936) ensures continuity of mental health treatment for insured individuals when their provider is involuntarily or voluntarily disenrolled from their insurance network (except for quality issues or fraud) or when 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 mental health condition. The law requires insurance companies to allow patients to continue treatment with that provider through an out-of-network option, paying the usual network reimbursement rate (using the median rate if multiple exist) without adding extra costs or deductibles. Patients cannot be charged more for this option unless the insurance company provides actuarial proof of increased costs, which must be approved by the health department.