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H 4936

An Act to improve child and adolescent mental health services

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Jenny Armini and 1 co-sponsor

Standardizes and expands who counts as a licensed mental health professional to improve access and consistency of child and adolescent mental health services across insurance and r

Reporting date extended to Thursday, December 31, 2026
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Bill Summary · H 4936

Overview

  • Bill: H 4936
  • Session: 194th (Massachusetts)
  • Title: An Act to improve child and adolescent mental health services
  • Purpose: Align definitions of “licensed mental health professional” across several Massachusetts statutory provisions to ensure uniform recognition and presumably allow for consistent coverage, authorization, and regulatory treatment in insurance and related contexts.

Main Purpose and Intent

  • The bill standardizes and expands the set of professionals considered as “licensed mental health professional” for multiple state laws.
  • By consolidating the definition, it aims to improve access to and clarity around services for children and adolescents by ensuring a consistent set of recognized providers within insurance, clinical practice, and related regulatory frameworks.

Key Provisions and Changes

The bill modifies several statutory sections to redefine “licensed mental health professional” as including:
- Licensed physician who specializes in psychiatry
- Licensed psychologist
- Licensed independent clinical social worker
- Licensed mental health counselor
- Licensed nurse mental health clinical specialist
- Licensed educational psychologist (within the lawful scope of practice for such educational psychologist)

Specific sections amended:
1) Chapter 32A, Section 22
2) Chapter 175, Section 47B (subsection (i))
3) Chapter 176A, Section 8A (subsection (i))
4) Chapter 176B, Section 4A (subsection (i))
5) Chapter 176G, Section 4M (subsection (i))

In each case, the second paragraph of subsection (i) is replaced with language enumerating the above list of professionals.

Who/What Would Be Affected

  • Insurance laws and regulatory provisions that rely on the term “licensed mental health professional” for defining eligible providers or scope of practice.
  • Providers in the listed categories would be uniformly recognized under these provisions, potentially affecting:
    • Credentialing and eligibility for insurance coverage
    • Professional scope of practice determinations
    • Administrative processes within health care financing and delivery systems
  • Specifically relevant to child and adolescent mental health services, given the bill’s title and focus.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Filed and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services (January 5, 2026; reported favorably January 22, 2026).
  • The bill was reported out of committee and referred to the Health Care Financing Committee, indicating progression through the legislative process.
  • Action History notes:
    • 2026-01-22: Reported favorably by the committee and referred to Health Care Financing
    • 2026-07-09: Reporting date extended to December 31, 2026 (extension indicates ongoing consideration)
  • New draft associated with House No. 1164 was introduced in conjunction with the committee report.

Potential Impacts

  • Improved clarity and consistency across multiple insurance and health care statutes regarding who can be considered a licensed mental health professional.
  • Potentially broader or clearer access to mental health services for children and adolescents through standardized recognition of providers.
  • Administrative simplification for insurers, providers, and families due to uniform definitions.
  • Any changes would depend on how other statutes implement the updated definitions in practice (e.g., impact on coverage, reimbursement, and provider credentialing processes).

If you’d like, I can provide a plain-language comparison of how the current definitions differ from the bill’s final language, or map which specific programs or insurers might be most affected.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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