Mental Health Coverage Gets Panel’s Time Legislators To Mull Expansion Of Health Insurance Policies

An interim legislative committee will consider whether the state should require health insurance policies to cover treatment of mental illnesses, the panel’s co-chairmen say.

As of last year, 15 states mandated that health-care policies cover some mental illnesses. Sixteen other states required such coverage to at least be offered, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. For example, Washington state requires a minimum level of mental health coverage to be offered in group policies.

Sen. Ralph “Moon” Wheeler, R-American Falls, a co-chairman of the interim committee, said requiring mental health coverage in major medical insurance in Idaho is worth considering. But Rep. Thomas Loertscher, R-Iona, the panel’s other co-chairman, said “most legislators object to mandating any type of benefits.”

The state requires that health insurance policies cover dependent children, maternity and mammography, Idaho Insurance Department Director Jim Alcorn said.

Loertscher said many people question why the state does not require medical insurance policies to cover disorders caused by chemical He said House Republican Floor Leader Bruce Newcomb’s bill could be the starting point for the interim legislative committee’s discussion.

The Burley Republican’s measure would require that basic and standard health benefit plans offer an optional rider for mental health coverage.

The optional rider would provide for two three-day inpatient hospital stays for psychiatric or mental health reasons each year, an $8,000 limit for psychotropic drugs or medications prescribed for mental health reasons each year and up to 26 outpatient mental health therapy sessions by a licensed professional each year.

All co-payments and deductibles would apply to the coverage under Newcomb’s proposal, and the premium for the optional rider could not exceed 25 percent of the cost for a basic health insurance plan for an individual.